C sJ, 



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CONCISE HISTORY 

OP 

E N 6 Ii A IV », 

COMPRI9ED IN 

A SET OF EASY LESSONS 

FOR CHILDREN. 

BROUGHT DOWN TO THE PEACE OF PARIS. 



By Mrs. TRIMMER. 



TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 



TABLES OF CHRONOLOGY, EVENTS, &c. 



BOSTON : 

MUNROE & FRANCIS, NO. 128, WASHINGTON-STREET, 

(Corner of Water Street ;) 

C. S. FRANCIS; 252 BROADWAY, NEW-YORK. 

1829. 



r& 



^ 



^ 



Gift 

J£rs. Ridgely Hunt 

1914 



DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT ! 

District Clerk's Office. 

Be it remembered, that on the twelfth day of January, A. D. 
1829, in the fifty-third year of the Independence of the United 
States of America, Munroe &. Francis, of the said district, 
have deposited in this Office, the Title of a Book, the right 
whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words following, 
to wit: 

A concise History of England, comprised in a Set of Easy 
Lessons for Children. Brought down to the Peace of Paris, 
By Mrs. Trimmer. To which are added, Tables of Chro- 
nology, Events, &c. 

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United 
States, entitled " An act for the encouragement of learning, 
by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the au- 
thors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein 
mentioned ;" and also to an act entitled, " An act supplemen- 
tary to an act entitled, an act for the encouragement of learn- 
ing, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the 
authors and proprietors of such copies during the times there- 
in mentioned; and extending the benefits thereof to the arts 
of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other 
prints." 

JOHN W. DAVIS, Clerk of the District of Massachusetts. 




ENGLISH HISTORY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The following Lessons, are designed to 
initiate young readers in the knowledge of 
the History of England. 

The island of Great Britain, containing 
England, Scotland, and Wales, was formerly 
calied Albion. The southern parts are sup- 
posed to have been first peopled by the 
Gauls, the northern by the Germans ; and 
the eastern by the Picts, who are said to have 
come out of Scythia. All the Britons went 



fVrt. 



^ 



Gift 

_Mrs. Ridgely Hunt 

1914 



DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT ! 

District Clerk's Office. 

Be it remembered, that on the twelfth day of January, A. D. 
1829, in the fifty-third year of the Independence of the United 
States of America, Munroe &. Francis, of the said district, 
have deposited in this Office, the Title of a Book, the right 
whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words following, 
to wit: 

A concise History of England, comprised in a Set of Easy 
Lessons for Children. Brought down to the Peace of Paris. 
By Mrs. Trimmer. To which are added, Tables of Chro- 
nology, Events, &c. 

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United 
States, entitled " An act for the encouragement of learning, 
by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the au- 
thors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein 
mentioned ;" and also to an act entitled, " An act supplemen- 
tary to an act entitled, an act for the encouragement of learn- 
ing, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the 
authors and proprietors of such copies during the times there- 
in mentioned; and extending the benefits thereof to the arts 
of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other 
prints." 

JOHN W. DAVIS, Clerk of the District of Massachusetts. 




ENGLISH HISTORY. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The following Lessons, are designed to 
initiate young readers in the knowledge of 
the History of England. 

The island of Great Britain, containing 
England, Scotland, and Wales, was formerly 
calied Albion. The southern parts are sup- 
posed to have been first peopled by the 
Gauls, the northern by the Germans ; and 
the eastern by the Picts, who are said to have 
come out of Scythia. All the Britons went 



INTRODUCTION. 



without any clothing, except the skins of 
wild beasts thrown carelessly over them ; and 
they painted their bodies of a sky-blue 
colour, in rude forms of flowers, trees, and 
animals. Instead of houses they had little 
mean huts : they tilled no ground, their food 
being game and fruits. Their arms were a 
shield and a short spear ; to the lower end of 
the latter was fastened a bell of brass, in 
order to frighten their enemies, when they 
shook it. In battle they made use of chari- 
ots armed with scythes, driving furiously 
among their enemies, and darting their spears. 
The British women accompanied their hus- 
bands to the field, and encouraged them in 
battle by their heroic example. 



TABLE I. 



Before the Conquest by William, Duke of Normandy, Britain 
was successively governed by the following people : 

1. THE BRITONS. 

2. THE ROMANS. 

3. THE SAXONS. 

4. THE DANES. 

It will be found of great help to the memory, to learn this 
and the succeeding Tables by heart 5 and the Map of Great 
Britain should be referred to throughout the ensuing History, 
wherever the name of places occur. 



THE BRITONS. 



LESSON I. 
The Druids. — Gathering the Misletoe. 

The ancient Britons, according to Csesar's 
account of them, were divided into three 
classes of people, answering to our nobility, 
clergy, and commonalty ; the last of whom 
were little better than slaves, or dependents 
on the other two. The nobility were consid- 
ered in their several states, as Princes, or 
Chiefs, and had a number of followers, ac- 
cording as they excelled one another in birth 
and wealth. The men had the power of 
life and death over their wives, children, and 
slaves ; but none were permitted to speak of 
matters of state, except in assemblies held 
for that purpose. 



O THE BRITONS. 

The clergy were called 

DRUIDS, BARDS, and UBATES. 

They had the whole care of religion, laws,, 
and learning; whatever knowledge the people 
wanted they applied for to the Druids, whose 
persons they held in great veneration. 

The chief of the Druids had great author- 
ity over the rest, and when he died, the next 
in dignity generally succeeded him ; but, in 
case of a competition, the President, or 
Chief, was chosen by election. 

The Bards were Druids, or priests of an 
inferior order, who employed themselves in 
making verses in praise of their false gods 
and heroes, which they set to music, and 
sung to their harps. 

The Ubates were occupied in the study 
of philosophy, and the works of nature. 

The religion of the ancient Britons was 
idolatry of the worst kind ; for they some- 
times offered human sacrifices to their false 
gods. Among other superstitious notions,, 
they believed that the gods had blessed the 
Misletoe of the oak with extraordinary vir- 
tues for the cure of all kinds of diseases ; and 
when they were so happy as to find it, the 
people were assembled together, and the 
Druid, clad in a white garment, ascended the 



THE BRITONS. 7 

tree, and cropped the plant with a golden 
pruning hook, as the annual present of the 
gods. Public worship was performed in 
groves of oak, where temples were built to 
the honour of different idols. The Druids 
dwelt in caves or hollow trees ; their food 
was acorns and berries, and their drink 
water. 

The Britons had great store of cattle, but 
.sowed no corn ; their chief food was milk 
and flesh ; their religion would not sffer them 
to eat either hares, hens, or geese, but they 
bred great numbers of them for their diver- 
sion. They used brass for money, or iron 
rings weighed out at a certain rate. 



TABLE II. 

The Britons were divided into seventeen small States, or 
Principalities j but in war-time they confederated together, 
under one of their Princes, whom they chose as Command- 
er-in-chief. The most renowned of the ancient British 
Chiefs were, 

CASSIBELAUNUS, in the time of Julius Cesar. 
CUNOBEL1NE, in the Reign of Caligula. 
CARACTACUS, in the Reign of Claudius. 
VENUTIUS, in the Reign of Aulus Didius. 
QUEEN BOADICEA, in the Reign of Nero. 



THE BRITONS. 




LESSON II. 



The Invasion of Britain by Julius Ccesar and 
succeeding Emperors. 

Britain was very little known to the Ro- 
mans till the time of Julius Caesar, who, hav- 
ing overcome the most warlike nations of the 
Gauls, resolved to bring the Britons also into 
subjection ; and for this purpose he sailed 
from Gaul with a fleet under his command, 
and arriving in a iew hours on the British 
coast, he came to an anchor in* a plain and' 
open shore. 

The Britons, apprised of his design, sens 
their horses and chariots to oppose the land- 
ing of the Romans. As the ships which the 
Romans came in were large, they required a 
considerable depth of water, so that the sol- 



THE BRITONS. » 

diers, though loaded with heavy armour, 
were obliged to leap into the sea, and at the 
same time to struggle with the waves and 
encounter with the enemy, who, having their 
hands at liberty, could either stand on dry 
land, or, by wading a little into the water, 
reach the invaders with their darts. 

Caesar's standard-bearer observing that the" 
soldiers were discouraged, and unwilling to 
engage upon such unequal terms, snatched 
up the standard, and leaped into the sea. 
The troops followed, and a bloody battle en- 
sued, in which the Britons were defeated, and 
obliged to sue for peace ; but hearing that 
Caesar's horse were driven back, and the ships 
that brought over his army greatly damaged 
by a tempest, they resolved to make another 
attempt for liberty, and soon collected togeth- 
er a considerable force, and attacked the 
Romans in their camp, but were at last put 
to flight, and pursued by the Roman soldiers, 
who committed great havock. The Britons 
were now once more under the necessity of 
entreating for peace ; which being granted, 
Ceesar returned to Gaul, carrying with him 
some of the principal Britons as hostages. 

The Britons had chosen Cassibelaunus for 
their commander-in-chief when Caesar made 
a second expedition against the island, but by 
degrees they deserted from him, which gave 



10 



THE BRITONS. 



the Romans great advantages, and Cassibe- 
launus was obliged to submit; and acknowl- 
edge subjection to the Romans ; however, 
before Cassar had completely subdued them, 
he thought it prudent to return to Gaul, and 
was afterwards prevented from pursuing his 
conquest, by the necessity of attending to 
other affairs of more consequence to him. 

For near a century after the second expe- 
dition of Julius Caesar, the Britons remained 
unmolested by. the Romans. The Emperor 
Caligula indeed, made a descent upon the 
island with an army of two hundred thousand 
men, but returned without performing any 
exploit. 

In the reign of Claudius, a great army was 
sent against them, under the command of 
Plautius, who gained some victories, and re- 
ceived the submission of several of the 
British states ; but others, under the conduct 
of Caractacus, a Prince of uncommon tal- 
ents, made such resistance, that the Romans 
for some time obtained very little advantage ; 
at length Caractacus was defeated in a great 
battle by Ostorius Capulus, the Roman Gen- 
eral. The valiant Prince Caractacus, no 
longer able to resist, fled for refuge to Cassi- 
mandua, Queen of the Brigantes ; she treach- 
erously delivered him into the hands of his 



THE BRITONS. M 

enemy, who carried him, his wife, and family, 
prisoners to Rome. 

As soon as Claudius heard of the arrival of 
the royal captives, he ordered them to be 
brought before him. The emperor was seat- 
ed on a magnificent throne, and Agrippina, the 
Empress on another. The queen, children, 
and brothers of the British king, fearing that 
they should be put to death, uttered the most 
piteous lamentations ; but Caractacus himself 
approached with an air of dignity and compo- 
sure, and, in a very manly speech, pleaded 
his ardent desire to preserve the liberty of 
the Britons, and entreated the Emperor to 
show clemency toward them. 

Claudius was so affected with this gallant 
behaviour, that he ordered all the captives to 
be unchained, and a triumph was decreed by 
the Senate to Ostorius, the conqueror of the 
British hero. 

Notwithstanding their repeated misfortunes, 
the Britons, bold and intrepid, were never 
wholly subdued. At length, in the reign of 
Nero, Suetonius Paulinus was sent against 
them with a powerful army. 

The island of Mona, now called Anglesea, 
was the chief residence of the Druids. Pau- 
linus resolved to attack it. The Britons en- 
deavoured to prevent his landing, both by 
the force of their arms, and the terrors of 



12 THE BRITONS. 

their religion. On this occasion, the women 
and priests mingled with the soldiers, and ran 
about the shore with flaming torches in their 
hands, shrieking and howling in a shocking 
manner. Fires were prepared in order to 
sacrifice to the false gods such Romans as 
should land on the island ; but Suetonius 
despised the threats of the furious Britons, 
encouraged his soldiers to the attack, gained 
the victory, and burnt the Druids in the idol 
grove, in the very fires they had kindled for 
the sacrifice of their enemies. He then 
ordered their altars to be demolished, and 
their grove cut down, that no memorial might 
remain of so shocking a religion. ' Such of 
the Druids as escaped, retired to Ireland and 
the Hebrides, while the Roman General 
began to build forts for the preservation of 
the island he had gained. 

THE ROMANS. 

After the destruction of the Druids, the 
Romans gained a memorable victory over 
Queen Boadicea, who headed the British 
army, consisting of 230,000 men, 80,000 of 
whom fell in the battle, and Boadicea died 
suddenly, either of grief or by poison. This 
calamity so disconcerted the Britons, that 
they immediately dispersed into their several 



THE BRITONS. 13 

districts. The city of London was at this 
time reduced to ashes by the fury of the 
Britons, and a great number of Romans and 
other strangers put to the sword. 

The Britons made frequent attempts to 
recover their liberty, and some of the'Roman 
Emperors went against them in person ; but 
in general, the Emperors maintained their 
sovereignty, by sending brave and experi- 
enced commanders to reside amongst them 
as vicegerents. One of these, named Julius 
Agricola, who governed in the reign of Ves- 
pasian, Titus, and Domitian introduced laws 
and civility among the Britons ; taught them 
to desire, and raise, all the conveniences of 
life, reconciled them to the Roman language 
and manners, and kindly strove to render their 
subjection easy to them. 

The Britons, won over by these gentle 
means, yielded by degrees to the dominion 
of the Romans ; and Britain now became a 
part of the Roman Empire : they were some- 
times dreadfully annoyed by their neighbours, 
the Picts and Scots, and on these occasions 
applied to the Romans, who sent them 
succours ; at length the Romans, on account 
of great disturbances wmich took place in the 
Roman Empire, could not spare any troops 
for the Britons, but recalled Gallio, the last gen- 
eral who went to their assistance, and who 

2 



14 THE BRITONS. 

informed them, they must now provide for their 
own safety. 

Before Gallio left the island, he prevailed 
upon the Britons to contract themselves within 
the confines of England, and convinced them 
of the necessity of repairing a wall, built by 
the Emperor Severus, which was by this 
time lined with cities from sea to sea. 

He advised them also to build castles on 
those parts of the coast which were most 
liable to invasions, and, having furnished 
them with patterns, by which they might 
fabricate arms for their own defence, he took 
his last farewell of Britain, to which the 
Romans never returned. 



TABLE III. 

The Roman Emperors w7w came against 
Britain in person. 

JULIUS CiESAR, who first landed on the island in the 
year 55 before the Birth of Christ. 

CALIGULA, in the year of our Lord 16. 

CLAUDIUS, in the year 43. 

ADRIAN, in the year 79. 

SEVERUS, in the year 197. 

CONST ANT1US, arrived in Britain in 293, and died at 
York in 296. 

CONST ANTINE THE GREAT was a native of Britain, 
born at Colchester, in Essex. His mother was a British 
lady named Helena. Constantine visited Britain in the 
year his father died, but did not reside there. 



THE BRITONS. 15 



CHRONOLOGY. 



Before Christ. 

53 Julias Ceesar landed on the 26th of August, at Dover. 

54 Caesar made a second descent on Britain. 
53 The first coinage in Britain. 

After Christ. 
43 Christianity was introduced in Britain. 
50 London supposed to be built. 
61 Boadicea vanquished and slew 70,000 men, women, 

and children, of the Romans. 
84 A chain of castles built by Agricola, from the Clyde to 

the Forth. 
121 The Picts' wall built from Carlisle to the mouth of the 

Tyne. 
180 Lucius was the first King in the world who embraced 

Christianity. 
207 50,000 of a Roman army destroyed near York by a 

pestilence. 
211 Gold and silver first coined in Scotland. Christianity 

first embraced in that part of Britain. 
276 Wines first made in Britain. 

283 St. Alban suffered the first martyrdom in Britain, at 
Holme-hurst, now St Albans, for his adherence to 
Christianity.* 

* The hat said to have been worn by St. Alban, was ex- 
posed for sale, when part of the old Arundel collection was 
sold by Mr. Howard, at Stafford house in Westminster, in 
1721. The hat was made of coarse plaited straw, and 
about a yard in diameter. It still remains in the Howard 
family, (Duke of Norfolk's.) The hat at the sale must have 
been 1426 years old from the death of St Alban. 



1(5 THE BRITONS. 

A.D. 

294 The city of London first walled round by Helena, 
wife of Constantius, father of Constantine the Great. 

306 Britain divided into four governments by Constantine. 

338 Britain began to be governed by Constantine, a son of 
Constantine the Great. 

448 Britain finally abandoned by the Romans, after pos- 
sessing it 400 years. Vortigern chosen King of the 
Britons. 




THB BRITONS. 



17 




LESSON III. 



The History of Britain from the departure of 
the Romans to the Saxon Heptarchy. 

VORTIGERN. 

Affeb. the Romans left the island, the 
Picts and Scots took advantage of the abject 
state to which the Britons were reduced, and 
made frequent incursions into their territories. 
The Britons, unable to resist such barbarians, 
agreed to follow the counsel of Vortigern, 
whom they had chosen for their King, and 
sent over to Germany, entreating the Saxons 
to afford them protection and relief. 

The Saxons, who had themselves frequent- 
ly annoyed Britain in the time of the Romans, 
gladly accepted the invitation. 

Hengist and Horsa, two brothers, renown* 



18 THE BRITONS. 

ed for their valour, and said to be descended 
from Woden their chief idol, obtained the 
command and landed in the island of Tha- 
net with a large body of troops, by 
whose aid the Picts, who had advanced 
as far as Lincolnshire, were driven back. 
In a short time the Saxons were reinforced 
by 5,000 of their countrymen, who arrived 
in 18 vessels, with their wives and families. 
The Britons now began to see the danger of 
the step they had taken, and loudly exclaim- 
ed against Vortigern ; but this Prince, who 
was very wicked and tyrannical, instead of 
consulting the good of his country, contracted 
a close union with Hengist and Horsa, and 
importuned them to send for more Saxons ; 
and though he had another wife living, he 
married Rowena, the daughter of Hengist, a 
very beautiful young lady, whom he first saw 
at a banquet. 

This treacherous Prince, on his marriage, 
put the Saxons in possession of the fertile 
plains of Kent, which lay favourable for their 
expeditions by sea. The Saxons now gained 
ground in England very fast, but Horsa was 
killed in battle by Vortimer, Vortigern's son 
by his first marriage ; and Vortigern was soon 
after deposed. Hengist, on his brother's 
death, took the title of King of Kent ; but was 
worsted by the Britons under the command of 
Vortimer, in a battle near Folkstone in Kent. 



THE BRITONS. 



19 



The gallant British commander died soon 
after, and then Hengist again resumed the 
government. Vortigern, despised and neg- 
lected by all parties, took refuge in Wales, 
and died in that retreat. 

Esca, the son of Hengist, succeeded his 
father, as King of Kent, and reigned with 
great reputation. A body of Saxons, under 
the command of iElla and his three sons, had 
some time before laid the foundation of the 
kingdom of the South Saxons. 

Another tribe of Saxons under the com- 
mand of Cerdic and his son Kenric, landed 
in the west, and from thence took the name 
of West Saxons. Cerdic was opposed by 
the Britons, but being assisted by his country- 
men on the island, he defeated the brave 
British King, whose name is uncertain, and 
left him dead on the field of battle. 

The celebrated Prince Arthur was then 
invested with the chief command, who sub- 
dued the Saxons in twelve successive battles, 
but was, notwithstanding his success, obliged 
to conclude a treaty with them, and was after- 
wards killed in a civil war by his nephew 
Mordred, who at the same time received his 
death-wound from him. Arthur was the last 
of the old British Worthies. 

Fresh tribes of Saxons continued to come 
over. At last the Britons were forced to 
leave the kingdom, and retire into Wales,. 



20 



THE SAXONS. 



where they were sheltered by the inaccessible 
mountains. 

When the Saxons had made themselves 
masters of the country, they divided the 
kingdom into seven parts called the 



SAXON HEPTARCHY. 

The Saxons are reckoned a blunt, honest 
people, without guile, or much ingenuity, who 
loved to carouse all night over their malt 
liquor, and so very quarrelsome when intoxi- 
cated, as seldom to part without bloodshed ; 
but when sober, they were open to reconcilia- 
tion. 

They were so attached to games of chance, 
that a man, after having lost all his effects, 
very often played away his liberty, and suf- 
fered himself to be sold for a slave. They 
were grossly ignorant of arts and sciences, 
and had but little taste for agriculture. They 
were habited in loose cassocks, and armed 
with shields, spears, and daggers or short 
swords. They were of large stature, robust 
in constitution, active, inured to fatigue, ac- 
customed to rapine, and particularly cruel to 
their prisoners, putting every tenth captive to 
death by the most dreadful tortures. In re- 
spect to religion, they were idolaters, and 
offered human sacrifices to their idols. 



THE SAXONS. 21 



CHRONOLOGY. 



A.D. 

449 Hengist and Horsa landed in the isle of Thanet. 

455 Hengist begged as much ground of King Vortigern 
as an ox-hide would compass, which being easily 
granted, the hide was cut into thongs, which sur- 
rounded so much ground, that a fort was built upon 
it, called Thong Castle, in Wales, where Hengist 
settled. 

511 Arthur gained a great battle, at Bladen Hill, near 
Bath, over the Saxons. 

535 Arthur fell in battle at Camelford, and was buried at 
Glastonbury. 

585 Cambria first called Wales. That part of Great 
Britain governed as a Heptarchy first called Eng- 
land or the Angles. 



TABLE IV. 

The Saxon Heptarchy contained the following Kingdoms j 

1. KENT. 

2. NORTHUMBERLAND. 

3. EAST ANGLIA. 

4. MERCIA. 

5. ESSEX. 

6. SUSSEX. 

7. WESSEX. 

The Sa-xons first landed at the Isle of Thanet, in the year 
449, or 450. Cerdic arrived in the year 490. 



22 



THE SAXON?. 




LESSON IV. 

THE SAXON HEPTARCHY. 

I. Kent. — This kingdom included also, 
the isles of Thanet and Shepey. The most 
famous of the Kings of Kent was Ethelbert ; 
he married a christian princess, named Birtha, 
who persuaded him to embrace the Christian 
Faith, and his subjects followed his example. 
This is said to have been the first introduc- 
tion of Christianity into Britain. Ethelbert 
reclaimed his people from gross ignorance and 
barbarity, and enacted his body of Laws. 



II. Northumberland. — This kingdom 
contained the whole county of Northumber- 



THE SAXONS. 23 

land, the Bishopric of Durham, and the 
counties of Lancaster and York. 

Among the Kings of this district, Edwin 
distinguished himself. It is said that justice 
was so strictly observed in his reign, that a 
woman or child might openly carry a purse 
of gold without any danger of being robbed. 
He married the daughter of Ethelbert, King 
of Kent. After some deliberation, he became 
a Christian, and his people also were con- 
verted. But, notwithstanding his outward 
profession of Christianity, this Prince was of 
so ambitious and haughty a spirit, that he ex- 
cited the jealousy of all the Anglo-Saxon 
Princes. 

III. East Anglia — Contained the coun- 
ties of Cambridge, Suffolk, and Norfolk. 

It is said that Sigebert, one of the Kings 
of East Anglia, introduced learning into his 
kingdom, and laid the foundation for the 
University of Cambridge, by building schools 
there. 

IV. Mercia. — This kingdom contained 
all the middle counties, from the banks of the 
Severn, between East Anglia and Wessex. 
It was the largest of all the kingdoms of the 
Heptarchy ; the inhabitants became Chris- 
tians under the reign of a king named Preda, 
who was converted by his queen. 



$4 THE SAXONS. 

V. Essex, or East Saxony — Contained 
Essex, Middlesex, and part of Hertfordshire : 
it originally formed part of the kingdom 
of Kent ; it makes no figure in the Saxon 
Heptarchy. 

VI. Sussex, or South Saxony — Con- 
tained Surry, Sussex, and New Forest. The 
history of this kingdom is very imperfect. 

VII. Wessex, or West Saxony — Inclu- 
ded Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Wiltshire, Berk- 
shire, and the isle of Wight. 

After the Saxons had expelled the natives 
of Britain, and divided the country into the 
Heptarchy, they began to quarrel among 
themselves. The King of Wessex met with 
great resistance at first : but at length over- 
came all the others. 

The last King of Wessex was named Eg- 
bert ; he was a Prince of great natural abili- 
ties, which he had improved in the court of 
Charlemagne, King of France. Before he 
came to the throne, the Mercians had nearly 
obtained the sovereignty over the Heptarchy, 
but the valiant Egbert led his army against 
them, and obtained a complete victory. 
Mercia was by this means added to his domin- 
ions, and in a short time all the other king- 
doms submitted to his authority, and he was 



THE SAXONS. 25 

solemnly crowned at Winchester, King of 
England ; by. which name the United King- 
dom was from that time called. 

The territories were nearly of the same 
extent with what is now called England. 



CHRONOLOGY. 

A.D. 

589 Austin, the first Bishop of Canterbury, consecrated. 

604 St. Paul's, in London, founded by Ethelbert, king of 

Kent. 

605 A court of chancery held in this year, by Augemundus, 

the first chancellor. 
611 The church and abbey of St. Peter's, Westminster, 

founded by Sebert. 
Archbishoprick of York founded by Edwin, king of 

the Northumbrians. 
643 The University of Cambridge said to have been 

founded this year by king Sigebert. 
663 Glass invented and brought into England. 
680 The Canons of the Five General Councils received in 

England. 
720 Peter's-pence first offered to Rome, by Ina, king of 

the West Saxons. 
751 Organs first used in churches. 
762 Burials permitted to be in towns instead of highways. 

3 



26 THE SAXONS. 



TABLE V. 

SAXON KINGS OF ENGLAND. 

1. EGBERT. 

2. ETHELWOLF. 

3. ETHELBALD AND ETHELBERT. 

4. ETHELRED. 

5. ALFRED the Great. 

6. EDWARD I. called the Elder. 

7. ATHELSTAN. 

8. EDMUND. 

9. EDRED. 

10. EDWY. 

11. EDGAR. 

12. EDWARD the Martyr. 

13. ETHELRED the Second. 

14. EDMUND Ironside. 

The Heptarchy was united into one State in the year 827, 
near 400 years after the arrival of the Saxons in Britain. 



THE SAXONS. 



27 



A. D. 




827. 



LESSON V. 

The Saxon Kings who reigned in England. 

I. EGBERT, 

who was solemnly crowned King of England 
at Winchester. The inhabitants of the dif- 
ferent states were contented under the gov- 
ernment of this prince, and promised them- 
selves peace and comfort ; but they were 
disappointed in their hopes, and kept in per- 
petual disquietude by the Danes, who fre- 
quently invaded them, and committed the 
most barbarous ravages. 

Five years after Egbert had established 
his monarchy over England, the Danes land- 
ed in the island of Shepey, and having pillaged 



23 THE SAXOtfS. 

it, escaped with impunity ; but in two expedi- 
tions afterward, they were encountered by 
Egbert, who the last time totally defeated 
them. Soon after this he unfortunately died. 

II. ETHELWOLF. 

This prince had neither the abilities nor 
the courage of his father. fn his reign the 
Danes returned, and gained a settlement in 
the isle of Thanet. 

III. ETHELBALD AND ETHELBERT. 

These two princes were sons of Ethelwolf, 
who by his will divided the kingdom between 
them. Ethelbald lived only two years, but 
Ethelbert reigned six. England was still in- 
fested by the Danes. 

IV. ETHELRED. 

w T ho was brother to the last king, succeeded 
him on the throne : in his reign the Danes 
made great depredations, and he lost his life 
in battle against them. 



THE SAXONS. 29 




A - D - II WUS* Ik I 872. 



V. ALFRED. 

This prince was the youngest son of Eth- 
elwolf; he was his father's favourite, who 
indulged him to such a degree as to suffer 
him to neglect his education. At twelve 
years of age, Alfred hecame sensible of his 
folly, in spending those hours in diversions 
which ought to have been devoted to study 
and improvement, and he applied to learning 
with so much assiduity, that he made an as- 
tonishing progress. On the death of his 
brother, Ethelred, Alfred was called to the 
throne, which obliged him to relinquish, in a 
great measure, those agreeable pursuits, in 
order to march against the Danes. At first 



30 THE SAXONS. 

he was very unfortunate, and found himself 
under the necessity of laying aside his roy- 
alty to go into retirement, where he passed for 
a peasant, and was employed by a herdsman, 
with whom he lived, to look after his cattle. 
He acquainted his nobles with the place- of 
his retreat ; and, having held a private con- 
ference with some of them, he went, as had 
been proposed, in a shepherd's habit, and as 
a harper to the Danish camp ; and while he 
was amusing his enemies with his music, he 
learnt that they were soon to hold a great 
festival. Alfred hastened to inform his 
friends of this, who assembled an army, 
which the king headed, and obtained a mem- 
orable victory. Many other battles were 
fought after this, by which, in the course of a 
few years, Alfred totally subdued the Danes ; 
these which remained, entreated his clemency, 
and he permitted them to settle in what had 
formerly been the kingdoms of East Anglia 
and Northumberland, requiring no other 
token of submission than their conversion to 
Christianity, to which they consented and 
were baptized. 

The good king next endeavoured to restore 
order to the state ; and, after rebuilding 
London, and other ruined cities, he establish- 
ed a regular militia, increased the number of 
ships ; divided England into counties, framed 
many excellent laws, encouraged learning, by 



THE SAXONS. 31 

inviting scholars from all parts of Europe to 
reside in England, and by establishing schools 
every where, for the instruction of his people ; 
he also founded or repaired the University of 
Oxford, and liberally endowed it. 

Alfred usually divided his own time into 
three equal parts ; one he allotted to sleep, 
diet, and exercise ; another to business ; and 
a third to study and devotion ; and by this 
means, though often indisposed, this martial 
hero, who fought in person 56 battles by sea 
and land, was able, in a life of no extraordi- 
nary length, to acquire more knowledge, and 
compose more books, than many studious 
men, who have been blest with the greatest 
leisure. He conveyed his instructions in par- 
ables, stories, and poetry ; translated iEsop's 
Fables from the Greek, and gave Saxon 
translations of other valuable works : nor did 
he neglect what are deemed vulgar mechan- 
ical arts ; every man was rewarded for useful 
inventions or improvements ; navigation and- 
commerce were greatly encouraged, and 
Alfred set apart a seventh portion of his own 
revenue, for the employment of workmen, in 
rebuilding the ruined castles, palaces, and 
religious houses. Even the elegances of life 
were in this reign brought into this kingdom 
from the Indies and Mediterranean ; he was 
esteemed both by his own subjects and for- 
eigners, as the greatest prince, except Char-._ 



32 THE SAXONS. 

lemagne, that had appeared in Europe during 
many ages, and as one of the wisest and best 
that had ever lived. He was very pleasing 
in his manners, and had an open and engaging 
countenance, and an air of great dignity. 

VI. EDWARD THE ELDER, 

was the second son of Alfred, and called the 
Elder> on account of his being the first of 
his name who reigned in England ; he was 
equal to his father as a warrior, but greatly 
his inferior in science and literature. His 
reign was very unquiet. 

VIL ATHELSTAN, 

the son of Edward, succeeded him ; he was 
a great warrior and a good politician. His 
reign was disturbed by the Scots, Danes, and 
Britons ; but he reduced them to order, and 
reigned sixteen years in peace. This prince 
employed learned men to finish a translation 
of the Bible in the Saxon language. 



THE SAXONS. 




A. D. M M 1016. 



LESSON VI. 
Saxon Kings continued. 

VIII. EDMUND 

succeeded Athelstan in the throne ; he was 
a prince of extraordinary courage and abili- 
ties, and during his short reign showed great 
regard for the welfare of his subjects. He 
enacted many good laws, and was the first in 
England who caused theft to be punished 
with death ; the kingdom was likely to flour- 
ish under such a monarch, but he lost his life 
in attempting to seize a notorious robber, who 
intruded into the royal presence after he had 
been expelled the kingdom. The name of 
this villain was Leof; he stabbed the king 
with a dagger. 

IX. EDRED. 

This prince was brother to Edmund : in his 
reign the Danes made fresh attempts to re- 



34 THE SAXONS. 

cover their liberties, but he humbled them 
and reduced their kingdom to a province. 
These tumults were succeeded by a profound 
peace ; but shortly after the king died. Edred 
was the first of the Saxon monarchs who as- 
sumed the title of King of Great Britain. 

X. EDWY, 

who reigned next, was son of Edmund : he 
was only fourteen when he ascended the 
throne. This prince was remarkable for the 
beauty of his person, and his amiable dispo- 
sition ; but Dunstan, a proud Abbot, who pre- 
tended to be a saint, raised a faction against 
him, which became so powerful, that Edwy 
was obliged to submit to divide his kingdom 
with his brother Edgar. He lived only two 
years after this disgrace. 

XI. EDGAR, 

before he came to the throne, gave strong 
marks of genius and understanding ; and he 
afterwards took such- measures as kept his 
subjects in submission, and his enemies in 
fear. 

He married the beautiful Elfrida, daughter 
of the Earl of Devonshire, and widow of 
Ethelwold, his favourite, who, having been 
employed by the king to bring him an account 
whether Elfrida was as handsome as she was 
reported to be, disparaged her charms to the 



THE SAXONS. 35 

king and married her himself. As soon as 
the king heard of this treachery, he resolved 
to revenge it, and shortly after Ethelwold was 
found murdered in a wood, and Elfrida be- 
came the Queen of Edgar. 

At this time England was dreadfully infest- 
ed with wolves ; in order to get rid of them, 
Edgar changed the tribute which the Welsh 
people used to pay him in money, into 300 
wolves' heads, to be paid every year : this 
expedient effectually cleared the country, in 
three years, of those rapacious animals, and 
there have been no wolves in England since, 
excepting in collections of wild beasts brought 
from foreign parts. 

XII. EDWARD THE MARTYR, 

was the son of Edgar, and only fifteen years 
old when he came to the throne : nothing re- 
markable passed during his reign. Elfrida, his 
mother-in-law, wanting to get the kingdom 
for her son Ethelred, ordered one of the 
servants to stab the king, who had mounted 
his horse, after making her a friendly visit : 
finding himself wounded, he set spurs to his 
horse, but soon fell through faintness, and was 
dragged in the stirrup till he expired.. After 
his death, the people, who were at that lime 
very superstitious, believed miracles to be 
wrought at his tomb, and called him the 
Martyr. 



36 



THE SAXONS. 



W9§M 



A. D. 




079. 



LESSON VII. 

Saxon Kings continued. 

XIII. ETHELRED SECOND, 

the son of Edgar and Elfrida, was raised to 
the throne ; but he was very unfit to govern, 
being of a most timid, undecided disposition. 

In his reign, the Danes again invaded 
England, and made great devastation. Eth- 
elred purchased their absence by a great 
sum of money, and made an alliance with 
Richard the second, Duke of Normandy, by 
marrying Emma, the sister of that Prince. 

Two of the King's favourites, Huma, gen- 
eral of his army, and Edric Streona, Duke of 
Mercia, formed the horrid design of making a 



THE SAXONS. 37 

general massacre, in one night of all the 
Danes in England, excepting those in East 
Anglia and Mercia : the king consented, and 
on St. Bride's day, the unsuspecting victims 
were all butchered by the Saxons, without 
respect to age or sex, 

Sweyn, King of Denmark, whose sister, 
the wife of an English nobleman, was mur- 
dered with the rest, determined to revenge her 
death : and soon arrived in England, where 
he made great havoc, and obliged the Eng- 
lish to pay him a large sum of money : in a 
short time the Danes returned again, and 
proceeded to such extremities, that the Eng- 
lish nobility found themselves under the ne- 
cessity of swearing allegiance to the Danish 
monarch, and gave him hostages for their 
fidelity. Ethelred, with his family, fled into 
Normandy, where they were received by 
Richard with great generosity. 

Shortly after Sweyn died, and the Eng- 
lish prelates and nobility sent to invite Ethel- 
red to return ; which he did, but behaved 
very badly. 

Canute, the successor of Sweyn, proved as 
terrible an enemy as he had been. Edric, 
who was son-in-law to Ethelred, treacherous- 
ly dispersed the army under his command, 
and then openly deserted to Canute with 
forty vessels. 

4 



38 THE SAXONS. 

The King of England, instead of marching 
against the Danes, pretended sickness, and 
remained at home, leaving the command to 
his son Edmund, who, after some fruitless ex- 
peditions into the north, retired to London, 
resolving to maintain, to the last extremity, 
the remains of English liberty. At this 
juncture the king died, and left his kingdom 
in the utmost confusion. 

XIV. EDMUND IRONSIDE, 

so named on account of his hardy valour ; 
he had great abilities, but could not raise his 
country from the misery into which it had 
fallen ; after using his utmost endeavours to 
vanquish his enemies, he was forced to con- 
sent to divide his kingdom with Canute. 
He survived this treaty only one month, 
when he was murdered at Oxford, by two of 
his chamberlains, accomplices of Edric, who 
thus made way for'the succession of Canute, 
the Dane, to the crown of England. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

840 The Picts entirely destroyed by the Scots. 
853 Tithes of all England granted to the church. 
856 The English crown first disposed of by will. 
862 Winchester burnt by the Danes. 
867 The monasteries ravaged by the Danes. 



THE SAXONS. 39 

886 Ships first built to secure the coasts. 
The city of London rebuilt. 
Learning restored at Oxfor.d. 
890 The kingdom divided into counties, hundreds and 
tithings. 
Brick and stone first used in building. Time calcu- 
lated by wax candles marked. 
897 A plague happened which caused great desolation 

among the inhabitants. 
900 Athelstan created knight, and the first who enjoyed 
this title in England. 
England first surveyed. 
937 A severe frost, which continued 120 days. 
The Bible translated into the Saxon. 
Colebrand, the Danish giant, killed by Guy, Earl of 
Warwick. 

944 A storm blew down 1500 houses in London. 

945 The first tuneable bells in England were this year 

hung in Croyland Abbey. 

946 Stealing first punished with death. 

955 Edred enjoyed the honour of being the first who was 

was styled King of Great Britain. 
960 Laws to prevent excessive drinking. 
Wolves' heads made a tribute. 
Eight princes rowed Edgar over the river Dee. 
979 Juries instituted. 
982 A fire destroyed the king's palace and a great part of 

London. 
991 The land-tax first levied. 

999 Danegelt first levied, to bribe the Danes to leave the 
kingdom. 
1002 November 13, a general massacre of the Danes began 

at Welwin in Hertfordshire. 
1012 The priests first inhibited from marrying. 
1014 Selling English children and kindred to Ireland pro» 
hibited, 



40 



TABLE VI. 

THE DANES. 

Names of the Danish Kings, and of the last Saxon Monarchs 
of England. 

1. CANUTE the Great. 

2. HAROLD I. 

3. HARDICANUTE. 

4. EDWARD III. surnamed the Confessor, of the Royal 

Saxon Line. 

5. HAROLD II. a Saxon by birth, but not of Royal 

Blood. 

The first appearance of the Danes in England, was in the 
year 787, when Bithric reigned in Wessex. The next alarm 
was given in 794, when they landed with a view of learning 
the state of the country. Though they frequently visited 
the coast afterwards, and plundered different places, they 
did not become truly formidable till the reign of Egbert, 
when they resolved to gain a settlement in the country, and 
landed in the Isle of Thanet. 



41 



THE DANES, 




a. d. \\b&m$RW 0r r 1017. 



LESSON VIII. 

The Danish Kings — The last Saxon Kings 
who reigned in England — The Conquest by 
William, Duke of Normandy. 

I. CANUTE. 

After the death of Edmund, Canute 
found means to obtain the sole government of 
England, and, having done so, he favoured 
equally the Danes and Saxons. Though he 
had shed a great deal of blood to gain the 
throne, he was so remarkable afterward for 
justice, piety, and moderation, that he obtain- 
ed the love of his subjects, and the esteem of 
mankind in general. 



42 THE DANES. 

In this happy condition Canute remained 
for several years, and then died in the 19th 
year of his reign. 

It is related of this Prince, that walking 
one day on the sea-shore with his courtiers, 
one of them flattered him to such a degree, as 
to compare his power to that of God ; on 
which he ordered a chair to be placed upon 
the beach while the tide was flowing, and, sit- 
ting down, commanded the sea to retire : be- 
ing soon surrounded with water, he rose up, 
and reproved his flatterers for having bestow- 
ed on him the praise due to the Almighty 
alone ; and from that time would never wear 
his crown. 

II. HAROLD I. 

surnamed Hare's foot, was one of the sons 
of Canute, and appointed succcesor by his 
father's will ; but the hearts of the English 
were placed upon his brother Hardicanute, 
who was born in England, and whose party 
was espoused by Earl Godwin, the most pow- 
erful nobleman in England. When Harold 
had reigned four years, he died. 

III. HARDICANUTE, 

so called on account of his robust constitu- 
tion, succeeded to the throne. This Prince 
who was the son of Canute, soon lost the af- 
fections of the nation by his bad conduct. 
His violent government was of short dura- 



THE DANES. 43 

tion ; he reigned but two years, and is sup- 
posed to have shortened his days by intem- 
perance. 

IV. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, 
so called, for his great attention to religion, 
next succeeded. This Prince, the last of the 
Saxon line, was the son of Ethelred and Em- 
ma. Though he had not great abilities as a 
Sovereign, his reign was peaceable and for- 
tunate, and he was remarkable for exercising 
and promoting the strict administration of jus- 
tice. The character of this Prince was so 
great for sanctity, that his people superstitious- 
ly believed his touch would cure the Scro- 
phula, called for this reason, the King's 
Evil. Edward the Confessor built West- 
minster Abbey. 

V. HAROLD II. 

was a Saxon, though not of royal blood. He 
was the son of Earl Godwin. After the 
death of Edward, he obtained the crown ; 
but William Duke of Normandy, who had 
been named by Edward as his successor, dis- 
puted his right, and claimed it for himself; on 
Harold's refuging to resign the crown, Wil- 
liam invaded England, in order to gain it by 
force of arms. The English monarch as- 
sembled all his forces, advanced against theNor- 
man army, and encamped within seven miles 
of Hastings, in Sussex, where it was posted. 



44 THE DANES. 

A memorable battle was fought, in which 
both commanders showed great skill and 
courage : at length Harold was slain with an 
arrow, as he was fighting with astonishing 
valour at the Head of his troops ; his two 
brothers shared the same unhappy fate ; and 
the English being quite disheartened, gave 
way on all sides, and were pursued with 
great slaughter by the victorious Normans. 
The battle continued from morning till sun- 
set ; William had three horses killed under 
him, and there fell near 15,000 men on the 
side of the Normans ; the loss of the Eng- 
lish was still more considerable. 

This victory is called, in English history, 
The Conquest. It was gained on the 14th 
of October, 1066, which was Harold's birth- 
day. Thus ended the Saxon monarchy in 
England, after it had continued, including the 
reigns of the three Danish Kings, upwards of 
600 years. 



CHRONOLOGY. - 

1017 Canute caused the assassins of Edmund, and the trai- 
tor Edric, who by a plot of regicide had advanced 
him to the throne, to be hanged. 

1040 Macbeth murders Duncan king of Scotland. 

1058 Edward the Confessor began to cure the king's evil. 
Godiva relieved Coventry from some heavy taxes by 
riding naked through the town. 

1060 The cross of Waltham erected. 

1065 The Saxon laws written in Latin. 



45 



TABLE VII. 



The Nine Lines of Kings who have reigned 
in England since the Conquest. 



1. The NORMAN Lin/?.. 

2. TheLineofBLOIS** 

3. TheLineofPLANTAGENET 

4. The Line of LANCASTER. ^ 

5. The Line of YORK. 

6. The Line of TUDOR. 



* 



8. The Line of ORANGE. 

9. The Line of BRUNSWICK. 



TABLE VIII. 
Kings of the Norman Line. 



1. WILLIAM the Conqueror 


1066 


2. WILLIAM RUFUS . 


1087 


3. HENRY I 


1100 



46 



THE NORMANS. 



A - D - If 1 \&W 11 1066. 




LESSON IX. 
The Reign of William the Conqueror. 

Shortly after his victory at Hastings, 
William marched up to London, where he 
was anointed and crowned King of England, 
in Westminster Abbey, in the year 1066 ; 
from London he went to Barking, in Essex, 
where he received the submissions of all the 
nobles who had assisted at his coronation. 

During his reign there were frequent quar- 



THE NORMAN LINE. 47 

rels between the English and the Normans, 
and sometimes insurrections ; but William 
maintained his conquest, and effectually sub- 
dued those who opposed him. He spared 
their lives, but seized upon their estates. 

This king introduced into England the 
Feudal Law. He divided all the lands in 
England, with very few exceptions, into baro- 
nies, and gave them to those who assisted him 
in the conquest. The barons shared out a 
part of their lands to other foreigners ; the 
former were called leige lords, the latter, 
knights, or vassals. 

The vassals paid the same duty and sub- 
mission both in peace and war, to their lords, 
as their lords owed to their sovereign. The 
clergy were under the same feudal law. All 
bishops and abbots, as well as the barons, 
were obliged, in time of war, to furnish the 
king with a certain number of knights, or mil- 
itary tenants. 

Under this reign no native of Britain was 
advanced to any dignity, either in the church, 
the state, or the army. William formed a 
plan for abolishing the English language, and 
for that purpose established French schools 
throughout England ; no other language was 
talked at court, and the English were asham- 
ed of their native tongue. 

William the Conqueror caused a general 
survey to be made of all the lands in his king- 



48 WILLIAM I. 

dom, and a book to be written called Dooms- 
day book, which contained an account of 
every particular relating to them. 

When he had settled his kingdom, he hop- 
ed to enjoy it in peace ; but the latter part of 
his life was disturbed by the quarrels and 
jealousies of his sons. Robert, the eldest, 
was very brave, but of a temper too apt to 
take offence. William and Henry, the two 
youngest, sometimes made it their diversion to 
tease him. In one of their frolics, they 
threw water upon Robert, which so enraged 
him that he drew his sword, and ran after 
them, resolving to take revenge ; and a dread- 
ful tumult ensued. All the young nobility 
took part with Robert, who endeavoured to 
dispossess his father of his Norman domin- 
ions, and William was obliged to get the 
English to assist him, by whose aid he sub- 
dued his undutiful son. The rest of his 
reign was, however, clouded by misfortunes, 
and he died soon after, in consequence of a 
fall from his horse. 

This king was low in stature, but corpulent, 
and remarkably strong ; his countenance was 
stern. Though he was not learned himself, 
he was a favourer of learned men, and held 
the clergy in great reverence. He was very 
fond of feasting and hunting, on which occa- 
sion he showed great magnificence. He died 
in the year 10S7, having reigned 21 years. 



THE NORMAN LINE. 49 

CHRONOLOGY. 
AD. 

1066 William Fitzosborne created earl of Hereford, being 
the first earl created in this kingdom. 

1068 The tax of Danegelt was re-established ; and the cur- 
few-bell ordered to be rung at eight ever}' evening, 
when the people were obliged, on pain of death, to 
extinguish their fire and candle. 

1072 Sirnames first used in England. 

1075 William was reconciled with his son Robert, who had 

rebelled against him. 
Wallheof, earl of Northumberland, was beheaded for 
rebellion, and was the first English nobleman thus 
executed. 

1076 William refused to pay homage to the see of Rome 

for the possession of England, and forbade his 
bishops to attend the council that Gregory had 
summoned. He however sent to Rome the tribute 
of Peter-pence. 
A great earthquake in England, and a frost from No- 
vember to the end of April. 

1078 William laid the foundation of London. 

1079 The Norman laws and language introduced. 

1085 Thirty-six parishes, containing a circuit of sixty miles 
in Hampshire, were depopulated and destroyed 
without any compensation to the inhabitants, in 
order to make New-Forest for William's diversion 
of hunting. The tyrannical laws of the Forest were 
made. 

1087 A dreadful famine in England. 

William went to France, and destroyed the country 
with fire and sword. He died at Rouen by a fall from 
his horse, and was buried at Caen, in Normandy, in 
the monastery he had himself founded, but was de- 
nied interment by the proprietor till the fees were 
paid. 

5 



50 



TABLE IX. 

THE FAMILY OF WILLIAM THE CON- 
QUEROR. 

WIFE. 
MATILDA, Daughter of Baldwin, Earl of Flanders. 

SONS. 

1. ROBERT, surnamed Courthose, who succeeded his fath- 

er as Duke of Normandy. 

2. RICHARD, killed by a stag- in the New Forest. 

3. WILLIAM, surnamed Rufus, who succeeded as King 

of England. 

4. HENRY, surnamed Beauclerk, afterwards King of 
'"% England, and Duke of Normandy. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. CICELY, a nun, and afterwards an abbess. 

2. CONST ANTIA, married to the Earl of Brittany. 

3. ALICE, contracted to Harold. 

4. A DEL A, married to Stephen, Earl of Blois. 

5. AGATHA, bethrothed to the King of Gallicia, but died 

before she was married to him. 

GRANDCHILDREN. 
WILLIAM, THEOBALD, HENRY, and STEPHEN. 



WILLIAM II, 



51 



A. D. 




1087. 



LESSON X. " 

The Reign of William Rufus - 
Henry I. 

WILLIAM RUFUS 



The Reign of 



was the third son c-j^William the Conqueror. 
He was crowned Ki^^of England soon after 
his father's de^*^W} his brother Robert was 
made Duke eTWormandy. This division of 
the Conquerors dominions was not pleasing 
to the Norman barons, which occasioned 
some disturbances, but at length a treaty was 
made, in ipt^. it was agreed, that if either 
of the bromers" ched without leaving children, 
the survivor should inherit his part of the 
dominions. 



52 THE NORMAN LINE. 

About this time the Crusades, or holy wars 
began. In that age of superstition, when 
Christians were Roman Catholics, it was 
reckoned an act of religion to travel to Jeru- 
salem, in order to pay devotion at what was 
supposed to be the sepulchre of our Saviour. 
Those persons who travelled on this errand 
were called pilgrims. Some of the followers 
of the impostor Mahomet, had got possession 
of Jerusalem, and treated the pilgrims very 
ill, so that they could not travel in safety; this 
raised the indignation of all the countries that 
professed Christianity, and the Pope formed 
a design of getting them to join their forces 
against these infidels ; but before he could ef- 
fect his purpose, a man, known by the name 
of Peter the Hermit, made such a proposal, 
which in a short space of time collected to- 
gether a multitude of adventurers, consisting 
of nobles, gentry, priests, artizans, peasants, 
&c. which, when mustered in the plains of 
Asia, amounted to 700,000 combatants, among 
whom was Robert, Duke of Normandy, who 
sold his dominions to his brother, in order to 
supply himself with money for the Crusade. 
William, earl of Poictiers, and duke of 
Guienne, offered to mortgage all his domin- 
ions for the same purpose ; the king accept- 
ed the offer, but before he could take pos- 
session, an accident put an end to his life. 

He was engaged in a hunting party in the 



WILLIAM II. 53 

New Forest, and Sir Walter Tyrell, a French 
gentleman, remarkable for his skill in archery, 
attended him. Tyrell, impatient to show his 
dexterity, let fly an arrow at a stag which 
suddenly started before him ; the arrow by 
accident struck the king in the breast, and he 
instantly expired. Tyrell hastened to the 
sea-side, and joined the crusade, by way of 
penance for his involuntary regicide. The 
king's body was found by the country people, 
and buried without pomp at Winchester. 

His figure was mean, his features ordinary, 
and his hair red. 

Historians represent William Rufus as a 
violent and tyrannical prince ; a perfidious 
and dangerous neighbour, an unkind relation, 
and a scoffer at religion. He was both prod- 
igal and rapacious. He died in the year 
1100, having lived 44 years, and reigned 
near 13. 



54 THE NORMAN LINE. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 



1088 An earthquake in London. 

A great scarcity this year, and corn not ripe till the 
end of November. 

William embarked for Normandy, and madte war 
against his brother Robert. 

William returned to England 5 and Henry, his broth- 
er, was forced to wander without a residence. 

1091 A tempest which destroyed 500 houses. 
Great part of London consumed by fire. 

1092 Malcolm, king of Scotland, killed at Alnwick, by the 

Earl of Northumberland. 
1064 Man and beast destroyed by a great mortality. 

1095 Peter the hermit preached up a crusade to the Holy 

land. 

1096 The Christian princes raised 700,000 men, and began 

the holy war. 
The first single combat for deciding disputes between 
the nobility. 

1098 The Tower surrounded with a wall. 
Westminster Hall built. Its dimensions are 224 (eei 

by 74. 

1097 The Voyage for the Holy-War, was first undertaken. 

Being a contrivance of Pope Urban, to compose the 
divisions of the church, the whole christian world 
being then at discord among themselves. This war 
lasted almost 300 years. 

1099 Jerusalem taken by storm, and 40,000 Saracens put 

to the sword. 

1100 Godwin-Sands, the property of Earl Godwin, first 

overflowed by the sea, destroying 4000 acres of 
land. 






HENRY I. 



55 



A. D. 




1100. 



HENRY I. 

surnamed Beauclerk, or the Scholar, was the 
next King. According to the treaty made 
after their father's death, Robert, the eldest 
son of the Conqueror, should have succeeded 
to his kingdom ; but he was absent on the 
Crusade, and his brother Henry, being on the 
spot, got himself elected king, and was 
crowned in less than three days after Wil- 
liam's decease. About a month afterward, 
Robert returned to Normandy, and in a short 
time invaded England, with the hope of re- 
covering the crown ; at length it was agreed, 
that Henry should continue king and pay 
Robert an annual pension, and that the friends 
of each side should be restored to all their 



56 THE NORMAN LINE. 

possessions. This treaty Henry broke, which 
brought on a war betwixt him and Robert ^ 
the army of the latter was defealed, and 
Henry, having got possession of Normandy, 
returned into England, carrying his brother 
with him, whom he kept in captivity the re- 
mainder of his life, which was twenty years. 
Henry had an only son, named William, 
who had reached his 18th year. Having had 
this Prince acknowledged as his successor in 
England, the king took him to Normandy, 
that he might receive the homage of the 
barons as their future sovereign. In their re- 
turn the king sailed with a fair wind, and was 
soon out of sight of land ; but the Prince be- 
ing detained a little while, the captain of the 
vessel and his crew spent the time in drink- 
ing, and, in their hurry to follow the king, they 
ran their ship upon a rock, where it immedi- 
ately foundered. Prince William was put 
into the long-boat, but hearing the cries of his 
sister, the countess of Perche, he ordered the 
seamen to row back to save her ; when such 
numbers crowded into the boat, that it sunk r 
and the Prince, with his whole retinue, per- 
ished. About 140 young noblemen of the 
principal families in England were lost ; the 
only person on board who escaped, was a 
butcher of Rouen, who clung to the mast, 
and was saved by a fisherman the next morn- 
ing. Fitz Stephen, the captain, as soon as 



HENRY I. 57 

he heard the prince was drowned, threw him- 
self headlong into the sea. 

England in all probability would have 
found a tyrant in Prince William, if he had 
lived to come to the throne, for he hated the 
English, and had been heard to threaten, that 
when he should be king, he would make 
them draw the plough, and turn them into 
beasts of burden. 

When Henry heard that his son was lost, 
he fainted away, and never afterwards re- 
covered his wonted cheerfulness. 

William, the son of Duke Robert, made 
some powerful friends, and endeavoured to 
recover Normandy, but lost his life in battle. 

For some time the king resided in Nor- 
mandy, but hearing that the Welch had made 
an incursion into England, he was preparing 
to return thither, when he was seized with a 
sudden illness, after eating too freely of lam- 
preys, and died in the sixty-seventh year 
of his age, and thirty-fifth of his reign, leav- 
ing by will all his dominions to his daughter, 
the empress Matilda, without mentioning 
Geoffrey, her husband, who had given him 
displeasure. 

Though Henry the First had some vices, 
and was very blameable for his cruelty to his 
brother Robert, he was in many respects a 
very accomplished prince, extremely pleasing 
in his person and address ; very brave and 



58 THE NORMAN LINE. 

eloquent, and, for the age he lived in, a very 
good scholar. 

This king granted a charter to London, 
with great privileges, which seems to have 
been the first step towards making that city 
a corporation. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1100 King Henry married the Lady Maud, daughter of 
Margaret, late queen of Scots, and niece to Edgar 
Atheling, descended from Edmund Ironside. 

1100 The use of fire and candle, after eight o'clock at night 
restored to the English. 

1106 King Henry subdues Normandy, takes Robert prison- 
er, and orders his eyes to be put out. 

1109 Three shillings levied on every hide of land, which 

tax produced £824,000'. 

1110 Arts and sciences taught again at Cambridge. 
1112 A plague in London. 

1114 The Thames dry for three days. 
1116 A council called of the nobility, which is supposed by 
some to be the first parliament 

1122 The order of the Knights Templars founded. 

1123 The first park (Woodstock) made in England. 

1129 The revenue of the royal demesne altered from kind 

to specie. 
1132 London mostly destroyed by fire. 
1134 Duke Robert having been imprisoned and blinded 

twenty-eight years, ended his miserable existence. 
In this reign, wheat sufficient to subsist an hundred meu 
one day, sold at one shilling — a sheep, four pence. 



TABLE X. 
FAMILY OF HENRY I. 

WIVES. 

1. MATILDA, daughter of Malcolm, third King of Scot- 
land, and niece to Edward Atheling. 

2. ADELAIS, daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Louvain. 

THE CHILDREN OF MATILDA, WERE 

1. WILLIAM, who was drowned at sea. 

2. MATILDA, married first to the Emperor of Germany j 
afterwards to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou. 

GRANDSON TO HENRY I. 

HENRY, the son of the Empress Matilda, afterwards King 
of England. 



TABLE XI. 

LINE OF BLOIS. 

STEPHEN, Grandson to William the Conqueror. 

1 



60 



THE LINE OF BLOIS. 



A. D. 




1135. 



LESSON XI. 



TJie Reign of Stephen. 

Adelais, the daughter of William the 
Conqueror, was married to Stephen, Count of 
Blois, and brought him several sons, among 
whom, Stephen and Henry, the two youngest 
had been invited over to England by Henry 
I. who bestowed upon them great honours, 
riches, and preferment. 

Stephen, in return, pretended great attach- 
ment to his uncle, and was among the first to 
give testimony of zeal and fidelity, when the 
king required the barons to swear that they 
would receive the Empress as his successor 
in the throne; but no sooner was Henry dead, 



STEPHEN. 61 

than Stephen broke through all ties of grati- 
tude, and hastened over to England, where he 
found means to obtain, not only the crown, 
but a large sum of money which the late 
king had accumulated. With this treasure 
he hired foreign soldiers to defend him on his 
throne, and used every means in his power to 
over-awe those who were discontented with 
his usurpation. 

When Robert, earl of Gloucester, took the 
oath of allegiance to Stephen at the beginning 
of his reign, he bound himself to acknowledge 
him as a king, no longer than he should keep 
his promises. The clergy and barons took 
the oath with the same conditions, and the 
latter required for themselves the right of 
fortifying their castles, and putting themselves 
in a posture of defence ; in consequence of 
which, England was immediately filled with 
their fortresses, garrisoned either with their 
own vassals, or licentious soldiers ; quarrels 
arose among the barons, and wars were car- 
ried on with great fury in every quarter of the 
kingdom ; the inferior gentry found them- 
selves obliged to purchase, at any rate, the 
protection of some neighbouring chieftain ; the 
country was laid waste, and the most shock- 
ing cruelties were exercised upon those who 
were taken captive, in order to make them 



62 THE LINE OF BLOIS. 

reveal their treasures : such were the dread- 
ful effects of the feudal law ! 

The Empress, assisted by Robert, earl of 
Gloucester, made powerful attempts to gain 
the kingdom ; war and tumult were spread in 
every quarter ; the land was left untilled, and 
a grievous famine, the result of these disor- 
ders, affected both parties. At length the 
Earl of Gloucester and the king had a battle, 
in which the latter was taken, and soon after 
thrown into prison, loaded with irons. Some 
time after this, Earl Robert fell into the 
hands of the enemy, and his party were glad 
to purchase his release, by setting Stephen at 
liberty. 

Civil war and discord raged for some time ; 
in the midst of them Earl Robert died, and 
both parties were so weakened, that they 
could support the contest no longer, and 
many of the nobility engaged in a new cru- 
sade at the preaching of St. Bernard. 

In the mean while, prince Henry, son to 
the Empress, grew to man's estate, and form- 
ed very powerful alliances, and, being encour- 
aged by some intelligence which he received 
he invaded England ; however, it was agreed 
that Stephen should possess the crown during 
his life, and that Henry should succeed him. 
When he had received the homage of the 
barons as heir to the crown, Prince Henry 



STEFHEN. 63 

left the kingdom ; and the next year Stephen 
died. 

This monarch gained the throne unjustly, 
and was never happy in it, though he had 
natural endowments which would have been 
greatly admired, if he had inherited the crown 
by a just title, and it must be said of him, 
that he never showed a cruel disposition ; he 
was very handsome. He died in the year 
1154, having reigned eighteen years. 



TABLE XII. 

FAMILY OF STEPHEN. 

WIFE. 
MATILDA, Heiress of Boulogne. 

CHILDREN. 

1. EUSTACE. His father gave up Normandy to him, 
and he did homage for it to Lewis VI. of France. He 
died before his father. 

2. WILLIAM. He was Earl of Boulogne, after his fath- 
er's death, in right of his mother. 



64 THE LINE QF BLOIS. 



CHRONOLOGY. 



1136 The distance from Aldgate to St. Paul's, (included) 

destroyed by fire in London. 
1136 The Empress Maud besieged in Oxford, and made 

her escape from thence on foot, being- disguised in 

white, on a snowy night, to Abingdon. 
1136 The tax of Danegelt entirely abolished. 

No less than fifteen hundred strong castles in the 

kingdom. 
1139 The Empress Matilda lands at Arundel, and claims 

the crown. Makes her natural brother, Robert, 

earl of Gloucester, her general. 
1141 Stephen taken prisoner at the battle of Lincoln, and 

confined in chains by Maud, in Gloucester gaol. 
Stephen released. 
1148 A new Crusade undertaken. 
1151 Gratian of Bologna, the monk, collects the canon 

laws after 24 years' labour. 
1153 Agreed, between Henry and Stephen, that eleven 

hundred of the castles, erected by permission of the 

latter, should be abolished. 
In this reign, appeals were first made to the Pope, and 
canon laws instituted. 

There was no regular mode of taxation. Contending 
parties supported themselves by plundering each other's 
tenants. 

There were more abbeys built, than in the hundred years 
preceding. 



65 



TABLE XIII. 

THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 



1. HENRY II. 






1154 


2. RICHARD I. 






1189 


3. JOHN 






1199 


4. HENRY III. 






1216 


5. EDWARD I. 






1272 


6. EDWARD II. 






1307 


7. EDWARD III. 






1327 


8. RICHARD II. 






1377 



e* 



/ 



66 



THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 



A. D. 




1154. 



LESSON XII. 

The Reign of Henry II 

HENRY II. 

When Henry arrived in England, he was 
welcomed with the most joyful acclamations. 
The Empress gave up her right in favour of 
her son, and he began his reign very pru- 
dently. 

This king at his accession to the throne, 
enjoyed great advantages over the king of 
France. The provinces he possessed on the 
continent, composed a third of the whole 
French monarchy. 

Lewis, king of France, was alarmed at the 



HENRY U. 67 

rising grandeur of the house of Anjou, or 
Plantagenet ; and, in order to prevent its in- 
creasing, he had ever maintained a strict 
union with Stephen j but after his death, it 
was in vain to oppose Henry. 

Soon after the king had settled affairs in 
England to his wishes, he went abroad to op- 
pose his brother Geoffrey, who had usurped 
some of his foreign dominions. Lest Lewis 
should be his enemy, Henry paid him a visit, 
and an alliance was formed, in which a ridicu- 
lous agreement was made, like children's play, 
that young Henry, heir to the English mon- 
arch who was only five years old, should have 
for his wife, Princess Margaret of France, 
who was then in her cradle. 

Some differences arose afterwards between 
the king of England and the king of France ; 
and the latter threatened to make war upon 
England ; but the dispute was accommodat- 
ed by the Pope, and Henry returned to 
England. 

The clergy at this time had gotten so much 
power in their hands, that it became necessa- 
ry to determine who should be sovereign, the 
king or the archbishop of Canterbury. Hen- 
ry resolved not to submit, as his predecessor 
had done : but concealed his purpose during 
the life of Eustace, who was at that time 
archbishop of Canterbury ; but, as soon as 
this good prelate was dead, the king made 



68 THE LINE OF PLAKTAGENET. 

Thomas a Becket, the chancellor, archbish- 
op ; who, he thought, would comply with his 
will ; but he was mistaken, for no sooner was 
Becket advanced to his new dignity, than he 
totally altered his behaviour. 

In order to pass with the world as a per- 
son of extraordinary piety and mortification, 
Becket wore sackcloth next his skin, fed upon 
bread and water, tore his back with whips and 
scourges, washed the feet of thirteen beggars 
every day, and seemed to be continually en- 
gaged, either in acts of religious mortification 
or meditation. He kept up, however, the 
usual pomp of the archbishop in the gran- 
deur of his retinue. 

His behaviour so far provoked the king, 
that they lived in a state of constant hostility ; 
the clergy supported Becket as far as they 
dared, and the barons espoused the king's 
party : at one time, Becket was deprived of 
his dignities and estates, and banished the 
kingdom ; afterwards he was reinstated with 
an increase of power, and the king submitted 
to hold the stirrup of the arrogant prelate, 
while he mounted his horse. In short, mat- 
ters were carried to a desperate height, and 
the kingdom was thrown into confusion through 
these contentions. At length four gentlemen 
of the royal household, judging from a pas- 
sionate expression which, the king made use 
of, that he wished to get rid of his adversary, 



HENRY II. 69 

agreed together to avenge their prince's quar- 
rel : for this purpose, they rode to Canter- 
bury, followed Becket to the altar, assaulted 
him, and knocked him on the head, and then 
retired without opposition. 

The news of this murder so afflicted the 
king, that he shut himself up, and for three 
days refused to eat or drink, because he 
thought he should bear the blame of it, and 
incur the resentment of the Pope : however, 
no immediate ill consequence arose to him ; 
but the clergy magnified the sanctity of Beck- 
et, and two years after his death, he was can- 
nonized (or reckoned among the saints ;) his 
body was then removed to a magnificent 
shrine, enriched with presents from all parts ; 
and it was computed, that in one year, a 
hundred thousand pilgrims arrived at Canter- 
bury, and paid adoration at his tomb. Such 
was the superstition of the times ! 

The Irish, who were never invaded by the 
Romans, remained, till the reign of Henry, in 
a rude barbarous state, he formed the project 
of conquering them, and, finding them at war 
among themselves, he easily effected his pur- 
pose ; so Ireland was annexed to the crown 
of England ; but the natives retained great 
hatred against their conquerors, 



70 THE LINE OF TLANTAGENET. 

LESSON XIII. 
The Reign of Henry II. continued. 

When Henry II. seemed to be at the height 
of grandeur and felicity, both in respect to his 
kingdom and family, his sons revolted against 
him. Henry, the eldest, suffered himself to 
be persuaded by his father-in-law, the king of 
France, to desire to have either the crown of 
England, or the duchy of Normandy, resign- 
ed to him in his father's life-time. On the 
king's refusing, the prince showed great dis- 
content, spoke very disrespectfully of the king, 
and went away to the court of France. The 
queen also incensed her two youngest sons, 
Geoffrey and Richard, against their royal fa- 
ther, and advised them to fly secretly to 
France, whither she was preparing to follow 
them, disguised in men's clothes ; when she 
was seized by order of her husband and 
thrown into prison. 

Henry made every concession consistent 
with the dignity of his crown, for he longed 
to be reconciled to his sons : at length they 
made their submission, and the king agreed 
to pay each of them pensions, and allow them 
castles for their residence ; he also restored 
their adherents to their estates, and set the 
king of Scotland at liberty, and about 900 



HENRY II. 71 

knights, on condition that this king and all his 
nobles should do homage to him as their sove- 
reign ; which they soon after performed. 
This was the first important advantage which 
England gained over Scotland. 

After some time, Henry renewed his de- 
mands, and all the three brothers quarrelled ; 
the king with some difficulty reconciled them, 
and immediately after, his eldest son appear- 
ed in arms against him ; but in the midst of 
these undutiful proceedings, Henry was seiz- 
ed with a fever, and, finding his end ap- 
proaching, he was struck with remorse, and 
sent to the king, expressing his contrition and 
imploring the favour of a visit, that he might 
at least die with the satisfaction of having ob- 
tained forgiveness ; but his behavionr had 
been so bad, that the king suspected it to be 
a pretended sickness, and did not dare to 
trust himself in his son's hands ; but, on 
hearing of his death, this good prince was af- 
fected with the deepest sorrow. 

After the death of their elder brother, the 
two other princes persevered in their ill- 
treatment of their father ; but Geoffrey was 
soon after killed. Richard, who was now 
the eldest son, was supported by the king of 
France, and king Henry's spirit being broken 
by ill treatment, he submitted to do what was 
required of him. 

When he demanded a list of the barons to 



72 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

whom he was bound to grant a pardon for 
their connection with Richard, he was sur- 
prised to find his son John's name at the head 
of them ; for he had always been his particu- 
lar favourite. 

The unhappy father, already over-loaded 
with cares and sorrows, on this disappoint- 
ment broke out into expressions of the ut- 
most despair, and pronounced a curse on 
his ungrateful children, which he could never 
be prevailed on to retract. His uneasiness 
of mind threw him into a lingering fever, of 
which he expired, at the castle of Chinon, 
near Samur. 

The next day, Richard came to view the 
body of his father ; and was struck with such 
horror and remorse at the sight of it, that he 
cried out in the agony of his mind, "I have 
been the murderer of my father." 

Henry II. died in the year 1189, in the 
fifty-eighth year of his age, and thirty-fifth 
of his reign. He was the greatest prince of 
his time for wisdom, virtue, and abilities, and 
had the largest extent of dominions of any 
king who had ever sat upon the throne of 
England. 

He was of a middle stature, well-made, 
very lively and engaging in conversation, and 
eloquent ; and he was remarkably abstemious. 

In the time of this king, there were dread- 
ful riots in London. 



HENRY II. 73 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1155 The castles demolished, agreeably to the treaty of 

1153. 
1157 The Welch, subdued, do homage, and swear allegi- 
ance. 
A sect, called Publicans, rejecting baptism and mar- 
riage, came into England from Germany. The 
bishops pronounced them heretics j they were 
branded in the forehead and whipped. 
1174 Henry scourged for the supposed murder of Becket. 
The bishops and abbots of Scotland swore fealty to 

England and its church. 
The earls and barons of Scotland swore allegiance to 
Henry and his son. 

1176 London bridge begun by Peter Colmar, a priest. It 

was thirty-three years in building. 

1177 Glass windows in private houses first used. 
Debasers of coin first severely punished. A new 

coinage. 

1185 A total eclipse of the sun ; and, at the same time, an 

earthquake, which destroyed Lincoln and other 
churches. 

1186 Near Orford in Suffolk, was a sort of a wild-man 

caught in a fisherman's net. 
Trial by jury established, or the verdict of twelve 

men, to punish offenders with the loss of a leg or 

banishment. 
Henry secreted his concubine (Rosamond, daughter of 

Walter lord Clifford) in a labyrinth at his palace 

at Woodstock, who being discovered by his queen 

Eleanor, she was poisoned by her, and buried at 

Godstow nunnery near Oxford. 
1204 The Inquisition established by Pope Innocent III. 



74 

*- ■ " ■ ' " ' ■» 

TABLE XIV. 

FAMILY OF HENRY II. 

WIFE. 

ELEANOR of Poitou. 

SONS* 

1. HENRY, married to Margaret of France, daughter to 

Lewis VII. j and died before his father. 

2. RICHARD, surnamed Cceur de Lion. He succeeded 

his father. 

3. GEOFFREY, married Constance, heiress of Brittany. 

He died before his father. 

4. JOHN, surnamed Lackland. He was, after Richard's 

death, King of England. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. MAUD, married to Henry, duke of Saxony. 

2. ELEANOR, married to Alphonso, king of Castile. 

3. JOAN ; married to William, king of Sicily. 

GRANDSON. 
ARTHUR, son of Geoffrey. 






RICHARD I. 75 



A. D" 




11#> 



LESSON XIV. 
Reign of Richard I. 

Richard I. surnamed Cozur de Lion, on 
account of his extraordinary courage, came 
to the* throne without opposition. He showed 
that his compunction, for his undutiful beha- 
viour to his good father, was sincere, by- 
choosing for his ministers those who had been 
the most faithful to the deceased king. He 
also released his mother from the confinement 
in which she had long been kept, and intrust- 
ed the government of England to her, till his 
arrival in that kingdom. He was besides 
very bountiful to his brother John. 

Being desirous of acquiring glory, Richard 
resolved to go to the Crusade. He knew that 
he must carry with him all the money neces- 
sary for his enterprise. His father had left 



76 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

him a large sum, but this he did not think 
sufficient ; so in order to increase it, he put 
to sale all the revenues of the crown, and the 
offices of the greatest trust and power; and 
when some of his ministers objected to these 
proceedings, he said, he would sell London 
itself, if he could find a purchaser ; and he 
actually sold the vassalage of Scotland, the 
greatest acquisition that had been made by 
his father, and obliged his subjects to lend him 
sums which they knew he never would repay. 

He appointed Hugh, bishop of Durham, 
and Longchamp, bishop of Ely, guardians of 
the realm in his absence. 

Numbers of the king's subjects were as 
impatient as himself to go to the holy war ; 
and Philip, king of France, who was also 
going upon the same expedition, sent to" has- 
ten his departure. — The two princes arrived 
with a combined army of 100,000 men ; they 
promised to be cordial friends ; but in a short 
time repeated discords broke out between 
these two jealous and haughty princes ; and 
the king of France, notwithstanding all his 
promises, returned from the holy war before 
Richard, and would have invaded Normandy, 
had not his nobles refused to follow him ; but 
he drew prince John from his allegiance to 
his brother. 

After having performed many valiant ex- 
ploits, and obtained a great victory over the 



RICHARD I. 77 

Saracens, Richard advanced within sight of 
Jerusalem ; when he found to his great dis- 
appointment, that all the crusaders, except 
himself, were tired out, and wished to return 
home. A truce of three years was made 
with Saladin, the emperor of the Saracens ; 
and one of the conditions was, that the pil- 
grims should be allowed to make their pil- 
grimages unmolested. 

Saladin died at Damascus soon after, and, 
before he expired, ordered his winding-sheet 
to be carried as a standard through every 
street of the city, while a crier proclaimed 
with a loud voice, " This is all that remains 
to the mighty Saladin, the conqueror of the 
East." By his last will he ordered charities 
to be distributed to the poor, without distinc- 
tion, df Jew, Turk or Mahometan. 

In his return to England, Richard, being 
fearful of passing through France, disguised 
himself like a pilgrim, with the purpose of 
going through Germany ; but at Vienna, he 
betrayed himself by his expenses, and was 
arrested by order of Leopold, duke of Aus- 
tria, to whom he had formerly given some 
affront. The emperor, Henry VI. required 
the royal prisoner to be given up to him. 
Thus the king of England, who had filled the 
whole world with his renown, found himself, 
during the most critical state of his affairs, 



78 THE LINK OF TLANTAGENET. 

confined in a dungeon, loaded with irons, and 
entirely at the mercy of his enemies. 

The king of France, taking advantage of 
Richard's confinement, and having made a 
treaty with prince John, invaded Normandy, 
but was repulsed in every attack. 

Prince John went over to England, and, 
pretending to have heard of! his brother's 
death, claimed the crown for himself, but 
was rejected by the barons, and was obliged 
to retire to France. 

Richard suffered in Germany every kind 
of insult and indignity, but he was still Caur 
de Lion ; and the emperor soon thought 
proper to restore him to his freedom, on being 
paid for his ransom 150,000 marks 5 about 
300,0001. of our money. 

Richard hastened to England, "where he 
was welcomed with joy, and crowned anew. 
All prince John's estates were confiscated, or 
seized for the king, "and Richard made pre- 
parations for revenging himself on Philip. 
A war soon broke out between France and 
England, during which, prince John deserted 
from Philip, and threw himself at his broth- 
er's feet ; Queen Eleanor interceded for him, 
on which the king said, " 1 forgive him, and 
hope I shall as easily forget his injuries, as 
he will my pardon." 

A treaty was set on foot for a durable 
peace between England and France ; but 






RICHARD I. 79 

before it was concluded, the king was wound- 
ed by one Bernard of Guerdon, an archer, 
whose father and brother he had killed. 
The wound proved mortal. The king died 
of it in 1199, in the tenth year of his reign, 
and forty-second of his age. 

Richard was passionately fond of military 
glory, and was well qualified for acquiring it ; 
he was of an impetuous, vehement temper, 
revengeful, ambitious, haughty and cruel ; but 
at the same time open, frank, generous, sin- 
cere, and brave. He was much beloved by 
his English subjects, and was the first king 
since the Conquest, that showed any sincere 
regard to them. 

Though he had spent so much treasure, he 
designed to have gone on another crusade, if 
his death had not prevented him. 

It was during these holy wars, that the 
custom of using coats of arms was first intro- 
duced into Europe. The knights, cased up 
in armour, had no other way to make them- 
selves known, but by the devices on their 
shields; and these were gradually adopted 
by their posterity and families who were 
proud of their ancestors. 

Tumults in London rose to so dreadful a 
height in this king's reign, that murders and 
robberies were daily committed in the streets. 
It is said that no less than 52,000 persons had 
bound themselves by oath, to obey all the 



80 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

orders of William Fitz-Osbert, a most dan- 
gerous ruffian ; but he was at last condemned 
and executed. 

King Richard was a great lover of poetry ; 
and there still remain some poetical works of 
his composition. 



TABLE XV. 

Wife of Richard I. 

BERENGERA of Navarre. 
He had no children. 



CHRONOLOGY. 

A.D. 

1189 The castles of Berwick and Roxburgh delivered up 
to William, king of Scotland, who was, at the same 
time relieved from subjection to England. Richard 
began, with Philip of France, his expedition to the 
Holy Land. 

About this time were those famous robbers and out- 
laws, Robin Hood, and Little John. 

Upon Richard's coronation-da}', (3d September,) was 
a great slaughter of the Jews in London, who com- 
ing to offer their presents to the new king, were set 



RICHARD I. 8l 

upon by the mob, to the loss of their lives and 
estates ; and the example of London was followed 
by other towns, as Norwich, St. Edmunds-Bury, 
Lincoln, Stamford, and Lynn. 

1190 King Richard marries the Lady Berengera, daugh- 

ter to the king of Navarre, and goes to the Holy 
Land, having sold some of the crown lands to raise 
the money for that expedition. In which voyage he 
took the island of Sicily and Cyprus. 

1191 Richard obtained a great victory over Saladin, at 

Jerusalem, September 3. 
He soon after defeated a Turkish troop of 10,000, who 
were guarding a caravan to Jerusalem. He took, on 
this occasion, 3,000 loaded camels, 4,000 mules, and 
an inestimable booty, which he gave to his troops. 

1192 Multitudes destroyed by a raging fever, which lasted 

five months. 

Two suns appeared on Whitsunday, so resembling 
each other, that astronomers could scarcely distin- 
guish which was the centre of our system, accord- 
ing to Copernicus. 
1194 Riehai-d having been absent four years returned to 
England, March 20. 

He made war with France, and having obtained 
a great victor}' over the French at Gysors, " Not we," 
saj's he, " but Dieu et mon Droit," i. e. God and 
my Right, has obtained this victory. Ever since, 
the kings of England have made it their motto. 

The king of Scotland carried the sword of state at 
the second coronation of Richard. 
1197 Robin Hood, being indisposed, and desiring to be 
blooded, was purposely and treacherously bled to 
death. 

In this reign, companies and societies were first estab- 
lished in London. 

Three lions passant first borne in the king's shield, 



62 



THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET 



A. D. 




1199. 



LESSON XV. 
The reign of John. 

King John came to the throne of England 
without opposition, according to the will of his 
brother ; but several of the French provin- 
ces declared in favour of prince Arthur, 
grandson of Henry II. whom Richard I. had 
declared his successor, before he went to the 
Holy wars. 

Philip, king of France, who was glad of 
any pretence to embarrass John, took Arthur, 
who was then only twelve years old, under 
his protection, to be educated with his own 
son : but Constance, heiress of Brittany, the 
young prince's mother, being doubtful of 






JOHN. 83 

Philip's sincerity, conveyed her son secretly 
to his uncle, her brother ; soon after this, a 
treaty was made between the kings of Eng- 
land and France. 

The next year a rebellion broke out in 
Poitou and Normandy ; the English barons 
refused to pass the sea with the king, unless 
he would promise to restore and preserve 
their privileges : however, John, by his 
threats, engaged many of them to follow him 
into Normandy, and he treated those in 
France with such haughtiness and oppression, 
that they were provoked to appeal to the 
king of France ; and a war was begun 
between him and John. The young prince, 
Arthur, who was rising to man's estate, joined 
with them, and they gained very great advan- 
tages. 

Prince Arthur, regarding his grandmother, 
queen Eleanor, as his enemy, besieged the 
place where she was, in hopes of taking her 
prisoner ; but this undutiful act was followed 
with dreadful consequences to him. 

John collected an army, and came to his 
mother's relief; and Arthur, and all the most 
considerable of the discontented barons, were 
taken prisoners : the latter were sent over to 
England, but Arthur was shut up in the castle 
of Falaise. 

The king here held a conference with him 
and endeavoured to persuade him to renounce 



84 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

his foreign alliances ; but the brave young 
prince scorned his offers of friendship, and 
asserted his claim to the French provinces 
and the crown of England. John, fearing 
that Arthur would prove a "dangerous enemy, 
determined to despatch him ; and he was 
never heard of more. 

It is said that the cruel kins:, not beins; able 
to prevail on others to commit the horrid act, 
removed Arthur to . the castle of Rouen, 
and, going in himself by a back way, 
in the dead of the night, commanded the 
unhappy prince to be brought before him, 
and, deaf to all his entreaties for mercy, 
stabbed him with his own hand, and, fastening 
a stone to his body, threw it into the Seine, 

All men were struck with horror at this 
inhuman deed, and from that time the king, 
detested by his subjects, found his authority 
greatly weakened. In addition to his cruelty 
to Arthur, he got that prince's sister, Eleanor, 
into his power, and kept her ever after in 
captivity. 

Soon after this, the king of France gained 
all the French provinces from John, which 
were added to the crown of France. 

The two following years, John pretended 
to make preparations for recovering his French 
dominions ; but returned with shame and 
disgrace. Shortly after, he had a quarrel 
with the court of Rome, and was at last 



JOHN. 85 

obliged to submit to the pope's authority in 
the most humiliating manner. Pandolf, the 
pope's ambassador, seated himself upon the 
throne, and the king came disarmed into his 
presence, flung himself on his knees before 
him, lifted up his joined hands, and put them 
within those of Pandolf: he then swore 
fealty to the pope, and agreed to pay tribute 
to him for his kingdom. 



LESSON XVI. 
The Reign of John, continued. 

Henry the first had granted a charter, or 
writing to his subjects, in many respects fa- 
vourable to their liberties ; Stephen had re- 
newed it ; Henry II. had confirmed it. 
Langton, who was archbishop of Canterbury 
in John's reign, showed the barons a copy of 
Henry the first's charter, and advised them to 
insist on its benig renewed : this they bound 
themselves by an oath to do ; and in the 
month of January they appeared in London 
to make their demand. The king promised 
to give them a positive answer the Easter fol- 
lowing ; and, when the time duew near, the 
barons assembled an army, and advanced in a 
body to Brockley, within fifteen miles of 

8 



86 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

Oxford, where the court resided. At first, 
the king refused to grant what was demanded 
of him ; but all the rest of the barons joined 
with those who had at first applied for the re- 
newal of the charter ; the king's parks were 
laid waste, his retinue was reduced to seven 
knights only, and he was obliged to submit at 
discretion. 

A conference was then appointed between 
the king and the barons at Runnemede, a 
place between Windsor and Staines ; where 
the two parties encamped, like open enemies, 
and, after a debate of a few days, the king 
signed and sealed the charter which was re- 
quired of him. This famous deed, com- 
monly called Magna Charta, or the Great 
Charter, either granted, or secured, very im- 
portant liberties and privileges to every order 
of men in the kingdom ; to the clergy, to the 
barons, and to the people. 

The king shortly after, having obtained the 
sanction of the Pope, recalled all the liber- 
ties he had solemnly sworn to grant. This 
renewed the civil wars, and Lewis, the eld- 
est son of Philip, king of France, was very 
near gaining the throne of England ; but the 
barons received information that he intended 
to exterminate them and their families, and 
give their dignities to his native subjects ; and 
this occasioned the Earl of Salisbury and 
other noblemen to return to John's party. 



JOHN. 87 

The king was assembling a considerable 
army in order to fight a great battle for his 
crown ; but, passing along the sea-coast, he 
lost, by an inundation, all his carriages, 
treasures, baggage, and regalia. He was 
before much indisposed, and his affliction at 
this disaster increased his illness, and obliged 
him to halt at Newark, where he very soon 
after died. 

This king was of a most vicious disposition, 
and his ill conduct greatly lessened his do- 
minions. 

He died October 17, 1216, in the forty- 
ninth year of his age, and the eighteenth of 
his reign. 

He was the first who gave to the citizens 
of London a charter for electing a mayor and 
common-council-men annually, and for elect- 
ing and removing sheriffs at pleasure. 

In 1212, London Bridge was finished in 
this reign ; the former bridge was of wood. 

The empress Maud was the first who built 
a stone bridge in England. 



88 



TABLE XVI. 

FAMILY OF JOHN. 

WIFE. 

ISABELLA, of Angouleme. 

SONS. 

1. HENRY, who succeeded him. 

2. RICHARD. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. JANE, afterwards married to Alexander, king of 

Scotland. 

2. ELEANOR, married first to the Earl of Pembroke, 

afterwards to the Earl of Leicester. 

3. ISABELLA, married to the emperor of Germany, 

Frederick II. 



JOHN. 89 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1199 Surnames first used. 

1200 .The king of Scotland performed public homage to 

John, at the parliament held in Lincoln. 
Assize of bread first appointed. 

1204 The most ancient writ of parliament directed to the 

bishop of Salisbury. 
Five moons seen at one time in Yorkshire. 

1205 A fish resembling a man taken on the coast of Suffolk, 

and kept alive six months. 

1208 Divine service throughout the kingdom suspended 

by the Pope's interdict. 
1207 The first annual major and common council of Lon- 
don chosen. 

1209 John excommunicated. 

1210 20 Irish princes do homage to John at Dublin. 

The clergy taxed to the amount of £100,000. 

1211 England absolved by the Pope from its allegiance to 

John. 

1212 Great part of London burnt down by a fire which 

begun in Southwark in Middlesex, and consumed 
the church of St. Mary Overy, went on to the 
bridge ; and whilst some were quenching the 
flames, the houses at the other end took fire, so 
that numbers were inclosed : man}' were forced to 
leap into the Thames, whilst others, crowding into 
boats that came to their relief, were the cause of 
nearly 3,000 people perishing, partly by water, 
and partly by fire. 

1213 John resigned his dominions to the Pope, and was ab- 

solved. 
In this reign, sterling money was first coined. 
1216 Wheat was sold for twelve-pence a quarter, and beans 
and oats for four-pence a quarter. 

/i/ 4 



90 



THE LINE OF PLANTAGENETV 



A. D. 




1216 



LESSON XVII. 



The Reign of Henry III. 

The cause of this young prince was zeal- 
ously espoused by the Earl of Pembroke,, 
who, being at the head of the government, 
had power enough to get him crowned ; and 
that he might be well received, the earl made 
him grant new charters of liberties. These 
famous charters have ever since been highly 
prized, and zealously maintained by English- 
men. 

Lord Pembroke also took great pains to 
reconcile the barons to the king ; and as the^ 
party of Henry increased, that of Lewis be- 
came weaker ; at length peace was concluded, 
and the civil wars were happily ended. 

After the expulsion of the French, the' 
protector, lord Pembroke, acted with the 
greatest prudence, and endeavoured, by ev- 



HENRY III. 91 

ery possible means, to bury all past animosi- 
ties in oblivion ; but he died soon after. 
When he was dead, the barons kept posses- 
sion of the royal castles, oppressed their 
vassals, infested their weaker neighbours, and 
invited all disorderly people to live upon their 
lands. It is said the number of castles in 
England at that time, amounted to 1115. 
As the king advanced in years, he was found 
to be everyway unqualified for maintaining a 
proper sway among the turbulent barons. 

By the advice of the bishop of Winches- 
ter, Henry invited over a great number of 
foreigners, on whom every office and com- 
mand was bestowed ; many young ladies 
also came over from Provence, and were 
married to some of the chief noblemen in 
England. Henry paid very little regard to 
the Great Charter, and reduced himself by 
his imprudence to urgent necessities, and 
when his parliament refused him supplies, he 
obliged his opulent subjects, particularly the 
citizens of London, to grant him loans of 
money. He also demanded benevolences, 
or voluntary contributions, from his nobility 
and the prelates ; at last he was obliged to 
sell all his plate and jewels to the citizens, in 
order to pay his debts. 

On his frequent breach of promise, the 
parliament obliged the king to ratify the 
Great Charter in the most solemn manner by 



92 THE LINE OE PLANTAGENET. 

oath : but even this did not bind him. En- 
couraged by these illegal proceedings, Simon 
de Montford, Earl of Leicester, tried to get 
the kingdom from him. He married Elea- 
nor, dowager of William, Earl of Pembroke, 
and sister to the king ; which offended the 
barons. He endeavoured to gain the affec- 
tions of all ranks of people by his insinuating 
address, and was banished by Henry, but the 
fickle monarch soon recalled him ; and in a 
very short time Leicester prevailed on a num- 
ber of noblemen to join with him against the 
king, and the barons came to a resolution to 
take the government into their own hands. 

Henry having summoned a parliament, in 
expectation of receiving supplies, the barons 
appeared in the hall in complete armour,, 
with their swords by their sides. Henry, 
amazed at the sight, asked them, if they were 
going to make him their prisoner ; they re- 
plied, No; but that as he had frequently 
broke his promises with his parliament, he 
must now submit to the authority of those 
who were ab!e and willing to redress the 
national grievances. 

Shortly after, twenty-four barons, witL 
Leicester at the head of them, were invested 
with unlimited authority to reform the state, 
and the king took an oath to maintain what- 
ever ordinances they should think proper to> 
enact ; but they gradually lost the favour of 



HENRY III. 93 

the people, and the king, perceiving a prospect 
of recovering his authority, wrote to the 
Pope, who took upon himself to absolve him 
from the oath he had taken. 

Prince Edward, though in early youth, 
detested the thought of breaking a solemn 
promise, and declared, that he would abide 
by what he had sworn to. This fidelity 
gained him the confidence of all parties, and 
enabled him to recover the royal authority for 
his father, and to perform great actions.'.; / 

Parties however ran very high ; the bar- 
ons rose in arms, and Leicester at the head 
of them, and dreadful ravages ensued. - Ed- 
ward was taken prisoner by them, and the 
king in order to recover this brave prince's 
liberty, was obliged to submit to the most 
ignominious conditions ; but as scon as Ed- 
ward was released, he raised a powerful party. 

The king of France, Lewis the Ninth, 
was referred to, and the cause betwixt the 
king of England and Leicester was brought 
to a trial in his presence, and decided in 
favour of the former ; but Leicester and his 
party rejected the sentence, the civil wars 
were renewed with great violence, and the 
king was unfortunately taken prisoner, but 
soon made his escape. The royalists now 
flew to arms, and a force was collected, 
which Leicester could not withstand ; a great 
battle was fought at Evesham, in which he 



94 THE LINE OF PLANT AGENET. 

was killed, with his eldest son, Hugh le Des- 
penser, and about 160 knights, and many- 
other gentlemen. The old king who was 
placed in the front of the battle, received a 
wound, and was in danger of his life, but 
crying out, " I am Henry of Winchester, 
your king," he was conveyed to a place of 
safety by his son, who came to his rescue. 

After this victory, almost all the barons sub- 
mitted, except Adam Gordon, who obliged 
the prince to lead an army against him : in 
the ardour of battle Edward leaped over 
the trench, and encountered Gordon in sin- 
gle combat ; after a sharp contest Gordon 
fell from his horse, but the prince generously 
gave him his life, and was ever after faithfully 
served by him. 

The king was now once more restored to 
his throne, and through his clemency, and 
the prince's prudence, order gradually took 
place in the state. 

Prince Edward having settled the kingdom, 
went to the holy war ; where he revived the 
glory of the English name in those parts ; 
but he was wounded in the arm by an assas- 
sin, whom he killed. 

During his absence the laws were not well 
executed, the barons oppressed the common 
people, and the old king greatly wished for 
his gallant son's return to assist him : at length, 
overcome with the cares of government, and 



HENRY III. 95 

the infirmities of old age, he died at St Ed- 
mundsbury, Nov. 16, 1272, in the sixty-fourth 
year of his age, and fifty-sixth of his reign ; 
the longest reign of any king of England. 

This king's too easy yielding temper, was 
the cause of his frequent breach of promise, 
and many other faults. Instead of setting 
a good example to his nobles, he was induced 
to imitate their conduct. Had his abilities 
been as good as his disposition, he would 
have made a much better monarch. 

He granted a charter to the town of New- 
castle to dig coals : this is the first mention 
of coals in English history. 

In order to increase his popularity, the 
Earl of Leicester ordered returns to be 
made of two knights from each shire, and 
of deputies from the boroughs, and this is 
supposed to have been the origin of the 
House of Commons. 

TABLE XVII. 

THE FAMILY OF HENRY III. 

WIFE. 

ELEANOR of Provence. 
SONS. 

1. EDWARD, who succeeded him. 

2. EDMUND, Earl of Lancaster. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. MARGARET, married to Alexander, king- of Scotland. 

2. BEATRICE, married to the duke of Brittany. 



96 THE LINE OF PLANT AG ENET. 

CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1222 The ward-ship of heirs and their lands was granted 

to king Henry. 

1223 The priests forbidden by a synod to marry. 

1225 The concubines of priests denied a Christian burial. 

1226 The Pope demanded a sum annually from every 

cathedral church and monastery in Christendom. 
This demand was refused. Thomas a Becket's 
bones were enshrined in gold and precious stones. 
Two impostors executed, the one for pretending to 
be the Virgin Mary, the other Mary Magdalene. 

1228 The Jews obliged to pay a third part of their prop- 
erty to the king. 

1236 Water first conveyed to London with utility. 

The Pope's ambassador going to Oxford, was set 
upon by the students, and his brother slain, him- 
self hardly escaping} whereupon the Pope excom- 
municated the University, and made all the bish- 
ops who interceded in the University's behalf, and 
the students, go without their gowns, and bare- 
footed, from St. Paul's church to his house, being 
about a mile, before he would revoke the sentence. 

1246 Titles first used. 

1251 Wales entirely subdued and subjected to English laws. 

1253 Fine linen first made in England. 

1255 All possessing £15 per annum, obliged to be knight- 
ed, or pay a fine. 
Tapestry introduced by Eleanor, wife of prince 
Edward. 

1264 There were 700 Jews slain in London, because one 
of them would have forced a Christian to have 
paid more than two-pence, for the use of twenty 
shillings a week. 

1269 About this time, Roger Bacon, a divine of Merton 
College in Oxford, was imprisoned by the Pope, 
for preaching against the Romish church. 



EDWARD I. 



97 



A. D. 




1272. 



LESSON XVIII. 
The Reign of Edward I. 

Edward I. — As soon as Henry was dead, 
the English hastened to proclaim prince 
Edward king : this prince had reached Sici- 
ly on his return from the Holy Land, when 
he received the news of his father's death, 
which gave him great concern ; at the same 
time he learnt that an infant son was dead : 
as he appeared much less affected at this 
misfortune, the king of Sicily expressed his 
surprise, but was told .by Edward, that the 
loss of a son might be repaired, that of a 
father was irreparable. 

When this valiant prince arrived in Eng- 
land, he was welcomed with the most joyful 
acclamations, and crowned at Westminster. 

He carefully confirmed the privileges of 
the Great Charter, and paid proper attention 



98 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

to the administration of justice; but he was 
in some instances severe, and to the Jews very 
cruel. 

No less than 15,000 Jews were in his reign 
robbed of their effects, and banished the 
kingdom, since which time very few Jews 
have lived in England. Before their banish- 
ment, the Jews were the only lenders of 
money upon interest ; afterward, this practice 
was exercised by the English themselves, to 
their fellow-cilizens, or by Lombards, and 
other foreigners. 

Edward could not remain without some 
employment,- so he resolved to chastise the 
prince of Wales, because he had taken part 
with the rebels in the late reign, and had 
refused to go to England to do homage to 
him as his sovereign. When the war had 
been carried on a little while, the prince, 
whose name was Llewellyn, was slain, and 
David, who succeeded him, being betrayed 
to the enemy, was carried in chains to 
Shrewsbury, and there hanged, drawn and 
quartered as a traitor, for defending, by arms, 
the liberties of his native country, and his 
own hereditary right ; which was very cruel 
treatment. 

All the Welsh nobility submitted to the 
conqueror, the laws of England were estab- 
lished in this principality, and the conquest, 
which had required eight hundred years fully 



EDWARD I. 99 

to effect, was completed by Edward. From 
a suspicion that the Welsh Bards might, 
by their poetry and music, revive in the 
minds of their countrymen the idea of mil- 
itary valour and ancient glory, the conquer- 
or ordered them to be put to death. 

It is said that Edward, having assembled 
the Welch, promised to give them a prince of 
unexceptionable manners, a Welchman by 
birth, and one who could speak no other lan- 
guage. On. their acclamations of joy, and 
promise of obedience, he presented to them 
his own son Edward, then an infant, who had 
been born at Caernarvon, and whom he in- 
vested in the principality. 

The death of the king's eldest son soon 
after made young Edward heir to the crown ; 
from that time, the principality of Wales has 
given title to the eldest son of the king of 
England. In less than two years after the 
settlement of Wales, Edward went abroad, 
and stayed about three years ; at his return 
he found many disorders prevailing in his 
kingdom, these he endeavoured to correct. 

The state of affairs in Scotland gave rise 
to the most interesting transactions of this 
reign. There were several revolutions in 
this kingdom, and Edward made repeated 
efforts to add it to his own dominions. Some- 
times the Scotch lost their kingdom, and then 
again recovered it ; great numbers of the 



100 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

Scotch nobility lost their lives in different 
battles. Baliol, one of their kings, was Ed- 
ward's prisoner for a number of years, and 
their famous champion, the brave Wallace, 
having been betrayed into his hands, was, by 
his command, executed on Tower-hill as a 
rebel. 

Edward also meditated an invasion upon 
France, but met with great opposition from 
the clergy, which provoked him to pursue 
the most violent measures : he reduced them 
to the utmost distress, and obliged them to 
comply with all his demands; and, as the 
money did not come in fast enough for him, 
he extended his rigour to all orders of men. 
These proceedings occasioned such discon- 
tent, that the king thought proper to adopt 
milder ones, and made an apology for the 
steps he had taken, by which means he pre- 
vented a civil war. 

Just as the king appeared, by the advan- 
tages he had gained, to be upon the point 
of finally accomplishing his purpose against 
Scotland, he was taken ill, and died at Car- 
lisle, Jan. 7, 1307, in the sixty-ninth year of 
his age, and thirty-fifth of his feign, hated by 
his neighbours, but highly respected by his 
own subjects. On his death-bed he desired 
his son to continue the enterprise against 
Scotland, and never to desist till he had total- 
ly subdued it. 



EDWARD I. 101 

This monarch is esteemed as a model of a 
politic and a warlike king ; but it is shocking 
to think such measures as he pursued should 
ever be thought necessary to aggrandize a nation. 

During his reign the English law was 
greatly improved. 

The figure of Edward was majestic and 
well proportioned, excepting that his legs 
were uncommonly long, on which account he 
was surnamed Longshanks. 

TABLE XVIII. 

FAMILY OF EDWARD I. 

WIVES. 

1. ELEANOR of Castile. 

2. MARGARET of France. 

SONS. 

1. EDWARD, who succeeded him 3 he was son of queen 

Eleanor. 

2. THOMAS, Earl of Norfolk, and Earl Marshal of Eng- 

land, die son of queen Margaret. 

3. EDMUND, Earl of Kent, the son of Margaret. He was 

afterwards beheaded. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. One died an infant, daughter of queen Margaret. 

2. JOAN, married first to the Earl of Gloucester, afterwards 

to Ralph of Monthemer. 

3. MARGARET, married to John, duke of Brabant. 

4. ELIZABETH, married first to John, Earl of Holland, 

afterwards to the Earl of Hereford. 

5. MARY, a nun at Ammersbury. — All these were the 

daughters of Eleanor. 

9* 



102 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1273 The Scots swear fealty to Edward, June 12. 

1275 Jews obliged to wear a badge. Usury restrained by 

the same act of parliament, October 6. 
1279 The first statute of Mortmain. 

280 Jews hung for clipping and coining. 
1282 The Rolls in Chancery-lane given to the Jews. 

Wales reduced, after having preserved her liberties 
800 years. 

1284 Edward II. born at Caernarvon, and created first 

prince of Wales, April 25. 

1285 The abbey church of Westminster finished, being 

sixty years in building. 

1286 The Jews seized, and £12,000 extorted from them by 

order of the king. 
He likewise laid greaf fines upon his judges, and 
other ministers, for their corruption j the sum im- 
posed upon eleven of them was 236,000 marks. 

1289 15,000 Jews banished. 

1291 Charing, Waltham, St. Albans, and Dunstable cros- 
ses erected, where the corpse of queen Eleanor 
was rested on its way from Lincoln to Westmin- 
ster for interment. 

1295 The Scots confederate with the French against the 

English. 

1296 Baliol, king of Scotland, brought prisoner to London. 
1298 40,000 Scots killed by the English at the battle of 

Falkirk. 
Sir William Wallace defeated at Falkirk. 
Baliol released. Spectacles invented. 

1301 Parliament declared Scotland subject to England. 

1302 The treasury robbed of property to the amount of 

£100,000. 
Magnetic needle first used. 



EDWARD It 



101 



A. D. 




1307. 



LESSON XIX. 
The Reign of Edward II. 

When Edward I. died his son was twenty- 
two years of age, and the English had conceiv- 
ed so good an opinion of him, that they thought 
they should be happy under his government ; 
but the first act of his reign blasted their 
hopes ; for, instead of pursuing the advanta- 
ges his father had gained, he marched his 
army a little way into Scotland, and then, 
having no inclination for warlike enterprises, 
he disbanded his soldiers. 

He next gave offence to his nobles, by 
showing great partiality to one Piers Gaves- 
ton, the son of a Gascon knight. The Jate 
king, fearful of the consequences of the 



104 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

prince's attachment to this young man, had 
banished him the kingdom, and made his son 
promise never to recall him ; but no sooner 
did Edward find himself king, than he sent 
for Gaveston, and loaded him with honours, 
preferments, and riches, of which he was ex- 
ceedingly vain : the king even made him 
guardian of the realm while he went to France 
to espouse the princess Isabella. 

The haughty barons did not conceal their 
discontent, but combined against Gaveston ; 
and when queen Isabella arrived, she joined 
-^wjth the barons, who were headed by Thomas 
earl of Leicester, cousin-german to the queen, 
who was by far the most opulent subject in 
the kingdom ; he was turbulent and factious 
in his disposition, and mortally hated the fa- 
vourite. The king persisted in protecting 
him ; but Leicester raised an army, and 
Gaveston was obliged to surrender himself 
prisoner, and was beheaded without any 
regard to law. 

The king was greatly enraged at this ; but 
the barons pacified him by their submission, 
and the tranquillity of the nation was restored. 

Immediately after Edward's retreat from 
Scotland, Robert Bruce, who had been 
crowned king of Scotland, but had fled 
before Edward the First, appeared again in 
arms, the Scotch nobility in general yielded 
to his dominion, and the people began to 



EDWARD II. 105 

entertain hopes of recovering their ancien' 
independence. A decisive battle was fought, 
in which the Scotch army proved victoriouSj 
and Edward, to the disgrace of England, 
was obliged to fly. This victory fixed Bruce 
on the throne, and was the greatest overthrow 
the English had ever received since the 
conquest. 

Besides this disaster there were rebellions 
in Ireland and Wales, and factions among the 
nobility at home. 

After the death of Gaveston, the king's 
chief favourite was Hugh le Despenser, or 
Spenser, a young man of English birth, high 
rank and noble family. His father was of 
the same name, a venerable, upright, and 
valiant man : but young Spenser was desti- 
tute both of prudence and moderation. 

The king lavished favours upon them, as 
he had done upon Gaveston, and the like 
consequences ensued. The barons were 
outrageous, the Spensers were obliged to 
absent themselves, the king became contempt- 
ible, and civil commotions were carried to a 
dreadful height. 

At length the king took the field in defence 
of his favourite, with an army of 30,000 men, 
and the earl of Leicester, after flying from 
place to place, was taken prisoner, and exe- 
cuted in a very ignominious manner. 

Queen Isabella went to France, and con- 



106 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

trived to get her son into her hands, and when 
the king required her to return to England, 
she sent him word, she would never set foot 
in the kingdom, till the Spensers were forever 
removed. After this, she espoused her son 
to Philippa, daughter of the Count of Holland, 
and invaded England with an army of 3,000 
men : on her landing in Suffolk, many of the 
nobility joined her ; the citizens of London 
refused to assist the king ; the queen's party 
prevailed, and the Tower of London was 
taken. The two Spensers fell into the hands 
of the enemy, and were executed as the earl 
of Leicester had been. 

The king fled to Wales, but was soon dis- 
covered, and delivered up to his enemies ; 
who conducted him to London, amidst the 
insults and reproaches of the people, and 
committed him to the Tower. 

A parliament was summoned by the queen 
in the king's name, by which he was voted 
incapable of governing, and deposed. Ed- 
ward was obliged to submit to their decision, 
and his son was seated on the throne. 

In a short time the people began to regard 
the king w T ith pity, aud abhorred the conduct 
of the queen. The earl of Lancaster, to 
whose care he was committed, treated him 
with tenderness, on which account he was 
removed ; he was then delivered to three 
other keepers, lord Berkeley, Mautravers^ 



EDWAftD II. 107 

and Gournay, who were to have him in their 
custody a month at a time. Berkeley was 
gentle, but the two others treated him with 
every species of indignity, hoping to break 
his heart with sorrow ; as this method of 
killing him was slow, they took advantage of 
lord Berkeley's illness, and by the order of 
Mortimer, a Welsh baron, the queen's favour- 
ite and counsellor, cruelly murdered him. 
Gournay was afterwards beheaded, but Mau- 
travers obtained pardon from Edward III. 

Though Edward II. was very unfit to gov- 
ern a fierce people in such turbulent times, he 
would have appeared very amiable in a pri- 
vate station, for he was of an inoffensive 
nature, and was led on by excess of friend- 
ship to act as he did ; he was very beautiful 
in his person. 

This unhappy prince was murdered at 
Berkeley castle, the 2 1st of September, 1327. 

During several years of this reign, England 
was afflicted with a grievous famine ; perpet- 
ual rains and cold weather not only destroyed 
the harvest, but bred a mortality among the 
cattle, and raised every kind of food to an 
enormous price. 



108 THE LINE OP PLANTAGENET. 

TABLE XIX. 

FAMILY OF EDWARD II. 

WIFE. 
SABELLA, daughter to Philip the Fair, King of France. 

SONS. 

1. EDWARD, Prince of Wales, who succeeded his father. 

2. JOHN, Earl of Cornwall, who died young. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. JANE, married to David Bruce, King of Scotland. 

2. ELEANOR, married to Re negald, Count of Gueldres. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1308 Crockery ware invented. 

1314 The king defeated at Bannock's- burn, in Scotland. 

1319 Dublin University founded. 

1322 Knight templars' order abolished. 

Under the accusation of heresy and other vices, all 
the knights templars were seized, by order of the 
king, in one day. 
The knights templars were an order instituted by 
Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, for the defence of 
the Holy City, and of the pilgrims that travelled 
thither, and were afterwards dispersed through 
all the kingdoms in Christendom. They were so 
enriched by the superstitious world, that they pos- 
sessed no less than 14,000 lordships, besides other 
valuable lands. 

1325 The queen and her adherents declared enemies to 

the kingdom. 

1326 The nobility renounce all fealty to Edward. 
The king resigns his crown to his son Edward III. 



EDWARD III. 



109 



A. D. 




1328. 



LESSON XX. 
Reign of Edward III. 

After Edward II. was deposed, the prince 
being a minor, a council of regency was ap- 
pointed to govern for him, and the earl of 
Leicester was the guardian and protector of 
his person. Mortimer, the queen's favourite, 
though not of the council, usurped the whole 
sovereign authority to himself, and was more 
deservedly hated than either Gaveston or the 
Spensers had been. He made a treaty with 
Bruce, king of Scotland, by which that king 
was rendered independent, and his son was to 
marry the princess Jane, sister to the king of 
England. He contrived to have the earl of 
Kent, the king's uncle, beheaded, and Leice- 
ster, the protector, thrown into prison ; and was 
guilty of numberless bad actions besides. 

When Edward was eighteen years old, he 
10 



110 THE LINE OF PLANTA6ENET, 

consulted with some of his faithful nobles how 
to get rid of Mortimer ; in consequence of 
which, a confederacy was formed against the 
usurper, and he was soon after seized in Not- 
tingham castle, where he and the queen took 
up their residence, and was condemned to be 
hanged, as w T ere also some of his adherents. 
The queen was confined to her house at 
Risings, and her income reduced to £4000 a 
year. The king went sometimes to visit her, 
but she never recovered her credit and power. 
Edward now proceeded with great industry 
and judgment in settling the affairs of his 
kingdom, and having done so, he longed to 
display his valour ; this he had soon an op- 
portunity of doing in a war, which was car- 
ried on with great vigour by the Scots and 
English ; the latter gained a complete victory 
with the loss of only one knight, one esquire, 
and thirteen private men. That of the Scotch 
amounted to 30,000, and all the chief nobility 
were either killed or taken prisoners, and the 
sovereignty of England was again acknow- 
ledged. 

Edward next made a claim to the crown of 
France, but upon very weak grounds ; how- 
ever, he engaged some powerful allies, open- 
ly assumed the title of king of France, and 
made an attempt to detnrone Philip de Va- 
lois, who was at that time the French Mon- 
arch. 

Edward in different years invaded France ; 



EDWARD III. Ill 

in 1340, he obtained q> great naval victory, 
230 French ships were taken, 30,000 French- 
men killed, and two of their admirals. The 
loss of the English was very inconsiderable. 

In the year 1346, a famous battle was 
fought near Cressy, in which the prince of 
Wales, as well as the king, displayed great 
valour ; the king of Fiance, whose army 
consisted of 120,000 men, narrowly escaped 
being killed, and his whole army, which was 
very great, took to flight ; on this occasion, 
1200 French knights, 1400 gentlemen, 4000 
men at arms, and about 30,000 of inferior 
rank, lost their lives. The kings of Bohemia 
and Majorca were also slain. The crest of the 
king of Bohemia was three ostrich-feathers, 
and his motto these German words, Ich dien, 
I serve ; which the prince of Wales adopted 
in memorial of this great victory, and his suc- 
cessors have borne them ever since. 

A few days after this, Edward laid siege 
to Calais, which the governor and citizens 
bravely defended ; during this siege the 
Scotch invaded England, but Queen Philippa 
raised an army, which she put under the 
command of Lord Percy, and rode herself 
through the ranks, exhorting every man to do 
his duty. The Scotch army, though greatly 
superior in numbers, was defeated; 15 or 
-20,000 killed, and David Bruce, their king, 
taken prisoner, and many noblemen. Philip- 
pa then went over to the English camp, 



112 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

which was before Calais, ^where she was re- 
ceived with triumph. 

The town of Calais held out for near 
twelve months ; at last the brave governor, 
who was called John of Vienne, saw an abso- 
lute necessity for surrendering, for the gar- 
rison and inhabitants were reduced to the ex- 
tremity of famine. He appeared on the 
walls, and expressed his readiness to deliver 
it up to the king of England, upon condition 
that he would grant the inhabitants their lives 
and liberties. This was at first refused ; but 
at last Edward only insisted, that six of the 
most considerable citizens should be sent to 
him with the keys, bare-footed and bare- 
headed, with ropes about their necks. 

Six heroic burgesses, willing to sacrifice 
their lives for their fellow-citizens, appeared 
before Edward in the manner required, and 
were ordered to be led to execution ; but 
queen Philippa threw herself on her knees 
before the king, and, with tears in her eyes, 
begged their lives. On this occasion she 
appeared more truly great, than when at the 
head of a victorious army. 

The king took possession of Calais, and 
shortly after a truce was made between him 
and the French; during which, Philip de Va- 
lois, king of France, died, and was succeeded 
by his son John, a prince distinguished for 
many virtues, and by no means deficient in 
personal courage, but an unskilful warrior. 



EDWARD III. 113 



LESSON XXI. 
Reign of Edward III, continued. 

In the year 1349, Edward instituted the 
order of the Garter. It originally consisted 
of twenty-five persons, besides the sovereign, 
and has never been increased. The motto, 
Honi soit qui mal y pense, is said to have 
arisen from the Countess of Salisbury's drop- 
ping her garter, which the king picked up, 
and said the above words to some of his 
courtiers, whom he observed to smile. 

About this time a destructive pestilence 
broke out in Europe, and reached England ; 
this prolonged the truce, but at length the 
war was renewed, nothing decisive was done 
that year ; but the next, both the king and 
prince went over with a number of forces, 
and committed great devastations, and the 
king of France was greatly embarrassed. 

In 1356, the armies of the king of France 
and of the prince of Wales met near Poic- 
tiers ; a memorable battle was fought, in 
which the English were victorious, and the 
king of France was taken prisoner, with his 
son, a valiant youth of fourteen. 

The young victorious prince, who was then 

10* 



114 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

twenty -seven years old, came forth to meet 
the captive king, with all the marks of regard 
and sympathy, endeavoured to comfort him 
under his misfortunes, and gave due praise to 
his valour. He ordered a repast to be pre- 
pared in his tent, and waited on his royal 
prisoner at table as one of his retinue. The 
French prisoners, overcome by this generosi- 
ty, burst into tears. 

A two year's truce was made with France, 
and the king was carried over to England, 
where the king of Scots had been eleven 
years a prisoner. Edward soon after restor- 
ed the latter to his liberty, on his paying a 
large sum for his ransom ; and before the 
end of the truce, John signed terms of peace, 
which, had they taken effect, must have total- 
ly ruined his kingdom ; but the dauphin, his 
eldest son, who governed in his absence, and 
the states of France, rejected them, on which 
Edward prepared for a new invasion, and 
war was carried on till the spring of the year 
1360, when peace was made, and the king 
of France set at liberty, on condition of his 
paying, at different times, about £1,500,000 
of our money, as his ransom. Some provin- 
ces were assigned to him, others to the Eng- 
lish monarch, &c. 

The king of France honourably fulfilled all 
the conditions required of him, and when he 
died, was succeeded by his son Charles, a 
prince of great ability and judgment. 



EDWARD III. 115 

In the year 1368, there was a disagree- 
ment between the prince of Wales and the 
inhabitants of some of the French provinces, 
of which the king of France took advantage, 
and shortly after, the prince, who was in a 
decline, was obliged to throw up the com- 
mand and return to England. The king of 
England in his old age lost much of his pop- 
ularity among his subjects ; the duke of Lan- 
caster, his third son, to whom he in great 
measure resigned the government, was great- 
ly disliked, and in a short time the prince of 
Wales died, to the great grief of the nation, 
for he was universally esteemed. 

The king survived this melancholy event 
about a year, and died on the 21st of Janua- 
ry, 1377, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, 
and fifty -first of his reign, at Sheen, now call- 
ed Richmond ; and when he was no more, 
the people became sensible of the irreparable 
loss they had sustained. 

Edward was not only a great warrior, but 
a good monarch ; his foreign wars were not 
founded in justice, nor did they procure him 
any solid advantages ; but he ruled at home 
with great prudence and vigour : his beha- 
viour was affable, obliging, and generous, and 
his person very majestic. 

Windsor Castle was built by this prince.. 
The first toll for repairing highways was im- 
posed in this reign. It was for repairing the 
road between Temple-bar and St. Giles's, 



116 



TABLE XX. 
FAMILY OF EDWARD III. 

WIFE. 
PHILIPPA, daughter of the Count of Holland and Hainault. 

SONS. 

1. EDWARD, called the Black Prince, from the colour of 

his armour. He died before his father. 

2. LIONEL, Duke of Clarence. He died in Italy before 

his father. 

3. JOHN of GAUNT, Duke of Lancaster. 

4. EDMUND, Duke of York. 

5. THOMAS, Duke of Gloucester. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. ISABELLA, married to the Earl of Bedford. 
[2. JOAN, married to the King of Castile. 

3. MARY, married to the Duke of Brittany. 

4. MARGARET, to the Earl of Pembroke. 

GRANDSON. 

RICHARD, the son of Edward the Black Prince, who suc- 
ceeded to the throne. 



EDWARD III. 117 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1327 The first general pardon granted at a coronation, 
which was afterwards imitated by succeeding 
kings. 

1330 Gunpowder invented by a monk of Cologne. 

1331 The art of weaving cloth brought from Flanders. 

1340 Copper money first used in Scotland and Ireland. 
Thomas Blanket and some other inhabitants of Bris- 
tol, set up looms for weaving those woollen cloths 
that yet bear that name. 

1341 Gold first coined in England. 

1346 Cannon first used by the English atCressy. 

1347 So great a plague in England, that in one year 

there was buried in London 50,000 : and there 
succeeded a famine and murrain. 

Doctor Orum, of Oxford,preached before Pope Urban, 
condemning the Papacy 5 and wrote the epistle 
from u Lucifer to the clergy, thanking them for 
sending so many souls to hell." 

August 3d, king Edward took the city of Calais, 
which he filled with English inhabitants: and it 
remained in the possession of the crown of Eng- 
land 210 years after. 

1348 The Order of the Garter instituted by Edward the 

Black Prince, April 3. 
The plague destroyed one half of the people. 

1352 The largest silver coin in England was groats. 

1357 Coals first imported into London. 

1362 Counsel obliged to plead in English. 

1364 Four kings entertained at one time, by Sir Henry 
Picard, lord mayor of London. 

1376 About this time, Dr. John Wickliff of Oxford, after- 
wards minister of Lutterworth in Leicestershire, 
the first English reformer of Popish errors and 
superstitions, maintained several learned points 
against the church of Rome. 



118 THE LINE OF PLANT AGENET. 



A. D. 




1377. 



LESSON XXII. 



The Reign of Richard II. 

Richard II. was the son of Edward the 
Black Prince, and only eleven years of age 
when he came to the throne. No regency 
was expressly appointed ; but the king's 
three uncles, the dukes of Lancaster, York, 
and Gloucester, secretly governed in the 
king's name. 

Edward left his grandson involved in many 
dangerous wars ; that with France was very 
expensive, and led the parliament to lay a 
new poll-tax of three groats a year upon eve- 
ry person above fifteen years of age ; this 
produced a mutiny of a very uncommon na- 
ture : one John Ball, a seditious preacher, 



RICHARD II. 119 

inflamed the minds of the common people, 
and in a short time there was an insurrec- 
tion, headed by men who assumed the names 
of Wat Tyler, Jack Straw, Hob Carter, and 
Tom Miller: and the most outrageous vio- 
lence was committed on such of the nobility 
and gentry as were so unhappy as to fall 
into their hands. This mutinous populace 
amounted to 100,000 men, they broke into 
the city of London, burnt the duke of Lan- 
caster's palace at the Savoy, cut off the 
heads of many gentlemen, pillaged the 
warehouses of rich merchants, and threat- 
ened all the lawyers. They broke into the 
Tower, and murdered Simon Sudbury, who 
was archbishop of Canterbury and chancel- 
lor, Sir Robert Hales, the treasurer, and 
other persons of distinction. — The king, very 
weakly guarded, met Wat Tyler and his 
rioters in Smithfield. Walworth, who was 
then mayor of London, shocked with the 
jnsolence of Tyler, drew his sword and 
struck him to the ground, where he was 
soon despatched. Observing the mob pre- 
paring to revenge his death, the king boldly 
advanced, and with an affable and intrepid 
countenance cried out, "What is the matter, 
my good people ? are ye angry that you 
have lost your leader. I am your king; I 
will be your leader." On which they im- 
plicitly followed him ; and soon after all 
the rebels submitted. 

Richard's subsequent conduct did not 



120 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

agree with this specimen of prudence and 
presence of mind, for his want of solid 
judgment appeared in every enterprise he 
undertook. 

He gave great offence to the nobility by 
his partiality to Robert de Vere, earl of 
Oxford, who governed him as he pleased. 
Mowbray, earl of Nottingham, Fitz-Allen, 
earl of Arundel, Percy, earl of Northum- 
berland, Montacute, earl of Salisbury, Beau- 
champ, earl of Warwick, were all closely 
connected together, and with the king's 
uncles, and still more by their hatred of the 
favourite. 

Michael'de la Pole, the chancellor, lately 
created earl of Suffolk, was impeached upon 
a very frivolous charge, and deprived of his 
office. Immediately after this, Gloucester 
and his associates attacked the king, and 
contrived to get the sovereign power into the 
hands of fourteen commissioners, who pro- 
ceeded to the exercise of their authority, 
though Richard protested against it. 

The kingdom was now divided into parties, 
which produced great commotions ; the 
king's ministers were either executed, or 
expelled, for actions which they were bound 
by their allegiance to perform. These vio- 
lent measures were followed by others ,till the 
king was reduced to a state of slavery ; but 
in less than a twelvemonth he recovered his 
royal power. He exercised with modera- 
tion the authority he had regained, and seemed 



RICHARD IL 121 

to be entirely reconciled £to his uncles, nor 
did he recal his favourite, whom he had 
made duke of Ireland. 

For eight years nothing material happened 
in the kingdom ; but at the end of that time 
the earl of Lancaster returned from Spain, 
and Richard paid great court to him. The 
wars which Richard inherited with the 
crown, still continued, but were very weakly 
carried on. At last the French and English 
courts began to treat about peace, and made 
a truce for twenty years : and Richard, who 
was now a widower, engaged to espouse 
Isabella, daughter of Charles, king of 
France, who was only seven years old. 
Richard's conduct rendered him very con- 
temptible to his people ; for he was indolent, 
profuse, addicted to low pleasures, and spent 
his whole time in feasting and diversions. 

The duke of Gloucester took advantage 
of these sentiments of the people; he form- 
ed cabals against the king, and spoke openly 
against the French truce and alliance. 
Richard, by advice of the French court, and 
urged by his own resentment, ordered Glou- 
cester to be arrested, and carried over to 
Calais, and the earls of Warwick and Arun- 
del were seized at the same time. These 
proceedings were countenanced by the 
dukes of Lancaster and York, and their 
eldest sons, the earls of Derby and Rutland. 

The archbishop of Canterbury was ban- 
11 



122 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

ished, the earl of Arundel condemned and 
executed, Warwick banished for life to the 
Isle of Man. A warrant was sent to bring 
the duke of Gloucester over for his trial, 
but the governor of Calais returned for an- 
swer, that he died of an apoplexy. It ap- 
peared afterwards, that he was suffocated 
with pillows by his keepers. 

, l /a _ . 

LESSON XXIII. 
The Reign of Richard II. continued. 

A quarrel soon after took place between 
the duke of Hereford, formerly earl of 
Derby, and the duke of Norfolk ; and they 
met, according to the practice of those 
times, to decide it by single combat, a duel 
fought publicly on horseback. The place 
appointed for the combat was Coventry, and 
the whole nation was divided into parties : 
on the day fixed 'the combatants met in the 
field, and vast numbers of spectators were 
assembled, but the king would not suffer 
them to fight; he banished Norfolk for life, 
and Hereford for six years. 

Soon after this, the duke of Lancaster 
died ; and his son desired to be put in pos- 
session of his estate and jurisdiction, but 
Richard seized the estate for himself. 



RICHARD II. 123 

Henry, the new duke of Lancaster, had 
gained great renown for his piety and valour, 
and was connected with the principal nobil- 
ity ; the people, disgusted with the king, 
turned their eyes towards him, as the only 
one who could retrieve the honour of the 
nation. Richard imprudently embarked 
for Ireland, and left his kingdom exposed to 
an ambitious enemy. Henry returned, and 
brought with him about sixty persons, among 
whom were the archbishop of Canterbury, 
and the young earl of Arundel; they were 
soon joined by the earls of Northumber- 
land and Westmoreland, and in a short time 
Henry's army amounted to 60,000 comba- 
tants ; soon after this, the earl of Northum- 
berland, by false oaths, made himself master 
of the king's person, and the unhappy mon- 
arch was conducted to London by the duke 
of Lancaster, who was received with the 
acclamations of the populace. Soon after 
this, Richard was obliged to resign his 
crown, and Henry, with the unanimous 
votes of lords and commons, was placed on 
the throne, nobody could tell how or where- 
fore. The dethroned monarch was impri- 
soned in Pomfret castle, where he was soon 
after murdered; some say Sir Piers Exon, 
and others of his guards, despatched him 
with their halberts ; but it is most probable 
that he was starved to death, as his body 
was exposed in public, and no marks of vio- 
lence appeared upon it. It is said he lived 



124 THE LINE OF PLANTAGENET. 

a fortnight after all kind of sustenance was 
denied him. He died in 1399, in the thirty- 
fourth year of his age, and twenty-third of 
his reign. This" king certainly was very 
unfit for government ; he was violent in his 
temper, profuse in his expenses, fond of idle 
show and magnificence, devoted to favour- 
ites, and addicted to pleasure. He lived in 
a roost- magnificent manner. His household 
consisted of 10,000 persons ; he had 300 in 
his kitchen, and all the other offices were 
furnished in proportion. Yet he was starved 
to death ! 

In this reign the members of the House 
of Commons first chose a speaker, his name 
was Peter de la Mare. 



TABLE XXI. 

FAMILY OF RICHARD II. 

WIFE. 

ANNE, daughter of the Emperor of Germany. 

He was betrothed to Isabella of France, but died before 
he was married to her. He left no children. 



RICHARD II. 125 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1377 The first champion at a coronation. 
Orders to arm the clergy. 

1378 The plague in the north of England. 
In this year Greenland was discovered. 

1379 Every person in the kingdom taxed, April 25. 
1381 Bills of exchange first used. 

Wat Tyler's rebellion begun Ma} r Z^*~" 
1500 rebels hung, July 2. 

1385 The French land in Scotland, in order to invade 

England, whereupon king Richard went to fight 
them, and put Edinburgh into flames, but they 
refusing to fight, he returns. 

1386 Linen-weavers company first settled. 

1387 The first high-admiral of England appointed. 
William of Wickham, bishop of Winchester, and 

lord treasurer, and chancellor of England, laid 
the foundation of the college in Winchester, as a 
nursery for his college in Oxford. 
1588 Bombs invented. 

1391 A great plague and famine. 

Cards invented for the king of France. 

1392 Thirteen counties charged with treason, and obliged 
to purchase their pardons. 

Provision seized, without payment, for the army. 

Duke of Lancaster landed, and declared his preten- 
sions to the crown, July 4. 

Richard confined in the tower, August 20. 

resigned his crown, September 29. 

In this reign piked shoes were worn tied with ribands 
and chains of silver to the knees. 

Ladies began to ride on side saddles, before which 
time they used to ride astride like men. 

Here ends the line of Plantagenet. 
11* 



12<S 



TABLE XXII. 

THE LINE OF LANCASTER. 

1. HENRY IV 1399 

2. HENRY V 1413 

3. HENRY VI ,.,... 1422 



HENRY IV. 



127 



A. D. 




1399. 



LESSON XXIV. 

The Reign of Henry IV. 

The heir of the house of Mortimer, who 
had been declared in parliament heir to the 
crown, was the earl of March, a boy seven 
years old. His friends were silent about 
his title, lest their endeavours to raise him to 
the throne should cost him his life. Henry 
detained him and his younger brother at 
Windsor castle ; but he had reason to fear 
this ^oung nobleman's interest would strength- 
en as he grew to man's estate. Henry soon 
found himself in a very dangerous situation. 
The peers quarrelled concerning his acces- 
sion, and a conspiracy was formed to seize 
his person ; but it was discovered by the 
earl of Rutland, and the king surprised 



128 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

them with an army of 20,000 men, and sev- 
eral noblemen were seized and put to death. 

Soon after this there was an insurrection 
in Wales, in consequence of a quarrel be- 
tween Owen Glendowr and Reginald, lord 
Grey ; the former was attached to the late 
king Richard, the latter was in the interest 
of Henry, who sent him assistance. Glen- 
dowr took the young earl of March and Sir 
Edward Mortimer, his uncle, prisoners. 
Henry, who hated all the family of March, 
refused to the earl of Northumberland per- 
mission to treat for their ransom. 

The Scots also made incursions into Eng- 
land, and in one of them Archibald, earl of 
Douglas, was taken prisoner, and with him 
many other noblemen and gentlemen. 
When Henry heard of this victory, he sent 
orders to the earl of Northumberland not 
to ransom them, which that nobleman regard- 
ed as his right to do, and took great offence 
at the king's message. The impatient spirit 
of his son, Harry Percy, surnamed Hotspur ? 
and the factious disposition of the earl of 
Worcester, Northumberland's } r ounger broth- 
er, inflamed his discontent, and provoked 
him to enter into a correspondence with 
Glendowr, and to give liberty to the earl of 
Douglas; he also called up alt his parti- 
sans to arms, and the same men, whom but a 
few days before he had conducted against 
Richard, now followed him against Henry. 
A battle was fought near Shrewsbury ; Hen- 



HENRY IV. 129 

ry exposed his person in the thickest of the 
fight ; his son, the prince of Wales, fought 
valiantly; Percy and Douglas supported the 
fame they had before acquired; but Percy 
was unfortunately killed by an unknown 
hand ; which decided the victory, and the 
royalists prevailed. Near 2,300 gentlemen 
and noblemen are said to have fallen that 
day, and 6,000 private men. The earls of 
Worcester and Douglas were taken prison- 
ers, the former was beheaded, the latter 
was treated with the courtesy his valour 
deserved ; the earl of Northumberland sub- 
mitted and received the king's pardon; Sir 
Richard Vernon was executed. 

The earl of Northumberland, the arch- 
bishop of York, and several other noblemen, 
though they remained quiet for a time, har- 
boured secret hatred against the king, and 
entered into a conspiracy, resolving to seek 
revenge for the injuries he had done their 
families; but their enterprise failed, the 
archbishop and the earl of Nottingham were 
betrayed into the king's hands and were 
both condemned and executed ; the earl of 
Northumberland fled into Scotland with lord 
Bardolph. The king reduced all their cas- 
tles and fortresses, and these two noblemen 
soon after fell in battle, and Owen Glendowr 
died. Henry was now free from all his do- 
mestic enemies. 

About the same time prince James of 
Scotland, who was nine years of age, was 



130 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

taken by the English, as he was going in a 
vessel to France, for security against his 
uncle, who wanted to destroy him. Henry 
refused to restore the young prince to his 
liberty, but gave him a good education. • 

The war with France was in a manner sus- 
pended during the reign of this king, who 
was so much employed in defending the 
crown which he had gained by such unwar- 
rantable means, that he had little leisure to 
perform any action which might redound to 
the honour of the nation : but in the latter 
part of his reign, he endeavoured, by his 
prudent, moderate conduct, to regain the 
reputation he had lost in the beginning of it 
by his severities. 

His son Henry, prince of Wales, gave 
him great uneasiness by his profligacy ; he 
seemed to forget that he was the son of a 
king, and heir-apparent to a great kingdom. 

Henry declined for some months before 
his death ; he was subject to fits, which for 
the time deprived hirn of his senses. He 
expired at Westminster in 1413, in the forty- 
sixth year of his age, and thirteenth of his 
reign. He was first led into rebellion 
against his sovereign by giving way to a 
spirit of revenge, which was seconded by 
ambition, and these carried him to greater 
lengths than he intended to go. 

The greatness he acquired was not envia- 
ble, for it is said, that he was continually 
haunted with remorse and apprehension. 



HENRY IV. 131 

He was handsome in his person, and pos- 
sessed many qualities which fitted him for 
his high station, and his reign was, upon the 
whole, beneficial to the English nation. 



TABLE XXIII. 

FAMILY OF HENRY IV. 

WIVES. 

1. MARY DE BOHUN, daughter and coheiress of the 

Earl of Hereford. 

2. JANE, daughter of the king- of Navarre, widow of the 

Duke of Brittany. 

SONS. 

1. HENRY, Prince of Wales, who succeeded him. 

2. THOMAS, Duke of Clarence. 

3„ JOHN, Duke of Bedford, afterward Regent of France. 
4. HUMPHREY, Duke of Gloucester, afterward Regent 
of England. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. BLANCHE, married to the Duke of Bavaria. 

2. PHILIPPA, married to the King of Denmark. 



132 * LINE OF LANCASTER. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1399 Geoffrey Chaucer, the poet, died. 

A conspiracy formed to restore Richard. 

1400 Richard II. murdered in Pontefract Castle. 

The use of guns first invented, by Berthold Swartz 
of Cologne in Germany, a monk, who being ad- 
dicted to the study of Chymistry, and making up 
a preparation of Nitre, and other things, a spark 
of fire fell into it, and caused a quick and violent 
explosion ; whereupou he made a composition of 
powder, and inclosing it in an instrument of brass, 
found it answer his intention, and by this accident 
came the invention of Guns. 
Emperor of Constantinople visited England. 

1403 The battle of Shrewsbury, July 22, gained by Henry 
and the valour of his sons. 

1405 Great guns first used in England, at the siege of 
Berwick. 

1407 A plague destroyed 30,000 persons in London. 

1409 Wickliffe's doctrine condemned. 

Remarkable acts passed in this reign. 

An act to burn Lollards or Heretics. 
1411 An act that no Welchman should purchase lands in 

England. 
An act that made it felony to multiply gold or silver 

by counterfeit or crafty means.* 
Felony to cut a tongue or an eye out. 

* This is matter of curiosity. — It was supposed, in this 
ignorant age, that some persons had discovered the philoso- 
pher's stone : and that the rare nobles coined in the Tower, 
were coined by multiplication, or the transmutation of base 
metals 3 and by this act all persons were prohibited from 
exercising the art of multiplication, the meaning of which 
term is, changing Base Metals into Gold. 



HENRY V. 



133 



A. D. 




1413. 



LESSON XXV. 



The Reign of Henry V. 



In the early part of his life, this prince 
gave himself up to excesses, which were very 
unbecoming his rank and station. It is said 
that when heated with liquor, he scrupled 
not to join with his riotous companions in 
robbing passengers on the highway for his 
diversion. This dissolute behaviour gave his 
father great uneasiness ; but at times the 
prince discovered such strong marks of cour- 
age and generosity, as gave the nation great 
hopes of his amendment. 

One instance in particular, encouraged 
these agreeable views. One of his compan- 

12 



134 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

ions was indicted before Sir William Gas- 
coigne, chief justice of the King's Bench, 
for some d'sorders ; the prince appeared at 
the bar, in order to give countenance to the 
prisoner, and finding that his presence had 
not overawed the chief justice, he proceeded 
to insult, and struck him on his tribunal. 
The judge, mindful of the character he bore, 
ordered the prince to be carried to prison ; 
he peaceably submitted to the sentence, and 
acknowledged his error. 

The memory of this incident, and others 
of a like nature, increased the joy which the 
death of so unpopular a prince as the late king 
occasioned, and the first steps which the new 
monarch took justified all the hopes enter- 
tained in his favour. He called together his 
former friends and companions, informed 
them of his intended reformation, exhorted 
them to follow his example, forbade them his 
presence, but dismissed them with liberal gifts. 

He received into favour the wise ministers 
of his father, praised the chief justice, and 
exhorted him to persevere in the same just 
administration of the laws. 

Henry was not only anxious to repair his 
past errors, but also to make some amends 
for those iniquities which his father had com- 
mitted. He expressed the deepest sorrow 
for the fate of Richard, performed his funeral 
obsequies with pomp and solemnity, and 
cherished all those who had been loyal to 



HENRY V. 135 

that unhappy prince. He also received into 
favour the earl of March, who remained ever 
after faithfully attached to him, and gave no 
disturbance to his government. The family 
of Percy was restored to its fortune and 
honours, and the king seemed ambitious to 
bury all party distinctions in oblivion. All 
men were unanimous in their loyalty to him, 
and none thought of disputing his title to the 
crown. 

It was the dying injunction of the late king 
to his son, not to let the English remain long 
in peace, and the natural disposition of Henry 
inclined him to follow this advice ; but while 
he vvas meditating conquests upon his neigh- 
bours, he found himself in danger from a con- 
spiracy at home ; however, it was detected, 
and the conspirators were led to execution. 

On the 14th of August, 1415, the king 
put to sea, and soon after landed on the coast 
of France, and besieged Harfleur with an 
army of 6,000 men at arms, and 24,000 
foot, chiefly archers : after a short time the 
place yielded io him, and he expelled the 
French inhabitants in order to people it with 
English. The fatigues of the siege, and the 
extraordinary heat of the weather, had so 
wasted the English army, that Henry could 
think of no farther enterprise, and was pre- 
paring to return to England, and offered to 
give up Harfleur for a safe passage to Calais, 
but was refused. The French had collected 



136 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

together an army of 14,000 men at arms, 
and 40,000 foot. Henry was determined to 
make his way by valour ; but when he drew 
near Calais, he was surprised at seeing the 
whole French army drawn up on the plain. 
Nothing in appearance could be more unequal 
than the battle on which his safety and all his 
fortune depended. His army was reduced to 
little more than half the number which had 
disembarked at Harfleur. The enemy was 
four times more numerous, and headed by 
the dauphin, and all the princes of the blood : 
notwithstanding this inequality, the English 
gained a complete victory, and the field was 
covered with the numbers of those who were 
killed and wounded. Henry then command- 
ed a French herald, named Mountjoy, to 
declare to whom the victory belonged ; and 
he adjudging it to the English, the king asked 
him the name of a neighbouring castle, to 
which he pointed with his finger, and being 
told it was known by the name of Agincourt ; 
" this action, then," said the king, " shall 
henceforth be called the Battle of Agincourt." 
No battle was ever more fatal to France, 
by the number of princes and nobility slain 
and taken prisoners. The killed was said to 
have amounted to 10,000 men, and Henry 
was master of 14,000 prisoners. All the 
English that wer-e slain did not exceed forty, 
among whom was the duke of York, who 
died righting by the king's side. 



HENRY V. 137 



LESSON XXVI. 
The Reign of Henry V. continued. 

After the battle of Agincourt, Henry 
continued his march, carried his prisoners 
from thence to England, and made a truce 
with the enemy. No hostilities took place 
for two years between France and England ; 
but during this time the fury of civil war 
raged in France, and the king, Charles VI. 
was made prisoner by the queen and the duke 
of Burgundy. In the midst of these commo- 
tions, Henry again invaded that kingdom with 
an army of 25,000 men, and gained several 
places, while he was treating for peace with 
the queen and the duke of Burgundy ; the 
latter was murdered and his friends taken 
prisoners. The dauphin, who was very 
young, was suspected of being concerned in 
this conspiracy ; and the queen, who enter- 
tained the most unnatural hatred of her own 
son, exclaimed against him. A strong party 
was formed to deprive the prince of the suc- 
cession, and they entered into a league with 
Henry, king of England, that he should 
marry the princess Catharine ; that Charles, 
during his lifetime, should be called king of 
France ; that Henry should be declared and 
acknowledged heir of the monarchy, and he 



138 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

entrusted with the present administration of 
the government ; that France and England 
should be for ever united under one monar- 
chy, but should still retain their several pri- 
vileges, &e. This was called the treaty of 
Troye, being concluded at a town of that 
name. Had it taken effect it would have 
been productive of very bad consequences to 
both kingdoms. 

In a few days after, Henry espoused the 
princess Catharine, and immediately turned 
his arms against the adherents of the dauphin, 
who took upon him the style and title of 
Regent ; but he was chased from place to 
place. In the midst of Henry's success, a 
son was born to him at Paris, whose birth was 
celebrated with the most pompous rejoicings, 
both in that city and in London. 

But the glory of Henry, when it had nearly 
reached the summit, was stopped short by the 
hand of death. He was seized with a fatal 
distemper, and, finding his end approaching, 
he sent for his brother, the duke of Bedford, 
the earl of Warwick, and a few other noble- 
men, and, with great tranquillity, delivered to 
them his last will, entreated them to continue 
their attachment to his infant son, expressed 
his indifference at the approach of death, and 
only regretted that he must leave his work 
unfinished, but hoped they would complete 
the conquest of France. He left the regency 
of that kingdom to his eldest brother, the 



HENRY V. 139 

duke of Bedford ; that of England, to his 
youngest, the duke of Gloucester, and the 
care of his son's person to the earl of Warwick. 

Having given full directions respecting his 
kingdoms, the king applied himself to his 
devotions, and expired on the thirty-first of 
August, 1422, in the thirty-fourth year of his 
age, and tenth of his reign. 

This prince possessed many eminent vir- 
tues, but his ambition carried him beyond due 
bounds. His face was beautiful, and his 
figure and address very agreeable, and he 
excelled in all manly exercises. 

In less than two months after Henry's 
death, Charles VI. of France, his father-in- 
law, died, and the dauphin was crowned by 
the name of Charles VII. 



TABLE XXIV. 

FAMILY OF HENRY V. 

WIFE. 

CATHARINE, of France, married afterward to Sir Owen 
Tudor, a Welsh gentleman, said to be descended from 
the princes of that country. 

SON. 

HENRY, Prince of Wales, who was not a year old, when 

his father died. 
Catharine had two sons after she was married to Owen 

Tudor. 



140 LINE OF LANCASTER. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1414 King Henry sends his brother, the duke of Bed- 
ford, &c. with 200 sail of ships, who fell upon the 
French fleet, sunk 500 French vessels, and took 
three great Carricks of Genoa ; relieved Harfleur, 
and so forced the French to raise the siege. In 
this action many thousands of the French were 
killed. 
One hundred alien priories suppressed this year, and 
their revenues given to the crown. 
1415 The battle of Agincourt gained by Henry, with a 
loss of 10,000 men to the French, killed, and 
14,000 prisoners, October 25th. 
Henry sent David Gam, a Welsh captain, to view 
the strength of the enemy, who reported, " There 
were enough to be killed, enough to be taken pri- 
soners, and enough to run away." 

1418 Sir John Oldcasile burnt for heresy in St. Giles's 

fields. 

1419 Vines and sugar-canes first planted in Madeira. 

1420 Henry assumes the title of King of France, on anew 

coin, April 18th. 
Kings of France and England make a magnificent 
entry into Paris. 

1421 The duke of Clarence, making an inroad into Anjou, 

in an unhappy engagement with the French, he 
and about 2,000 English were slain. 

1422 The two courts of England and France held at Paris, 

on Whitsunday : the two kings and queens dined 

together in public, May 21st. 
In this leign it was enacted that knights, citizens, and 

burgesses, should be resident in the place for 

which they were chosen. 
The crown and jewels were pawned to raise money 

(or maintaining the war with France. 



HENRY VI. 



141 



A. D. 




1422 



LESSON XXVII. 
The Reign of Henry VI. 

The parliament of England, instead of 
establishing the regency of the duke of Glou- 
cester, appointed the duke of Bedford pro- 
tector and guardian of the infant king, and 
his person and education were committed to 
Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester. 
The duke of Bedford proceeded with great 
prudence, in respect to the affairs of France ; 
but the young king of that nation was of a 
very amiable character, and likely to be es- 
tablished upon the throne. This, the duke 
employed every means to prevent, and the 
king of France was at one time reduced to 
such a desperate state, that it was difficult 
for him to supply his table with the plainest 
necessaries, and every day brought him an 
account of some loss or misfortune ; how- 



142 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

ever, he fortunately gained the alliance of 
the duke of Burgundy. 

The duke of Bedford resolved to attempt 
the final conquest of France, by besieging 
Orleans, and committed the conduct of this 
great enterprise to the earl of Salisbury. 
Just as it was supposed the place must sur- 
render for want of provisions, it was unex- 
pectedly relieved in a very strange manner. 

A country-girl, twenty-seven years of age, 
called Joan d'Arc, who was servant at an inn, 
and had been accustomed to ride and look 
after horses, fancied herself inspired to deliver 
her country. The French received her as a 
messenger from heaven, the English troops 
were dismayed, and in a short time Suffolk 
was obliged tor raise the siege, and in his 
retreat was taken prisoner 5 and the remain- 
der of the English army, commanded by 
FastolfFe, Scales, and Talbot, was also obliged 
to retreat. Charles was soon after crowned 
at Kheims ; the maid of Orleans stood by 
his side in complete armour, and the people 
shouted with the sincerest joy. 

The duke of Bedford, in the mean time, did 
every thing in his power to preserve some foot- 
ing in France, and soon after the coronation of 
Charles, he had the young king of England 
brought over to Paris, where he was crowned 
and anointed and received homage from all 
the prisoners who remained in the possession 
of the English ; the number of which was 



HENRY VI. 143 

greatly diminished. Henry VI. was nearly 
nine years old when he was crowned. 

Soon after the defeat of the English, the 
maid of Orleans desired to retire to her for- 
mer station ; but, the French general being 
unwilling to part with the advantage of her 
presence, she continued with them, but was 
unfortunately taken prisoner, loaded with 
irons, and after a variety of sufferings, burnt 
alive as a witch. 

After this, the English lost ground very 
much; and in the year 1435, the duke of 
Bedford died. The contest for the kingdom 
of France was carried on for a number of. 
years ; but very little was done on either side. 
The duke of Gloucester and the bishop of 
Winchester differed very often about public 
affairs, and headed two factions ; by advice 
of the latter, a truce of twenty-two months 
was concluded with France. 

As Henry advanced in years, it appeared 
that the extreme meekness of his temper, 
and the weakness of his understanding, sub- 
jected him to be perpetually governed by 
those who surrounded him ; as he had attain- 
ed his twenty-third year, they thought it 
proper that he should have a queen, and he 
was married to Margaret of Anjou, daughter 
of Regnier, titular king of Naples, Sicily, and 
Jerusalem. This princess had great accom- 
plishments, but was of a masculine temper ; 
and she had a great partiality for the duke of 



144 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

Suffolk, who went to fetch her over to Eng- 
land, and the dukes of Somerset and Buck- 
ingham joined with them in a resolution to 
effect the ruin of the duke of Gloucester. 

They began with his duchess, whom they 
obliged to do public penance, and condemned 
to perpetual imprisonment, on pretence that 
she had practised magical arts on the king. 
Soon after this, they accused the good duke 
himself of treason, and threw him into 
prison, where he was found dead in his bed, 
and it was suspected that he was murdered 
at the instigation of the cardinal of Winches- 
ter and the duke of Suffolk. 

The cardinal of Winchester died six weeks 
after, very miserably, for his last moments 
were imbittered by remorse for his wicked 
life. 

In the mean while, Charles of France ex- 
pelled the English from all their possessions 
in that kingdom, except Calais. 



LESSON XXVIII. 

The Reign of Henry VI. continued. 

The murder of the good duke Hum- 
phrey gave general discontent. The duke of 
Suffolk, as prime minister, was universally 
hated ; at length he was impeached of high 



HENRY VI. 145 

treason, and banished for five years ; and 
fearing that the queen would recal him, his 
enemies employed a captain of a vessel to 
intercept him in his passage to France, who 
seized him near Dover, and caused his head 
to be struck off, and his body thrown into the 
sea. The duke of Somerset was appointed 
to succeed him ; but he was equally disliked. 

These discontents produced great commo- 
tions in different parts of England : the most 
remarkable insurrection was that headed by 
John Cade, who took the name of Mortimer, 
and collected to his standard 20,000 of the 
common people in the county of Kent. Sir 
Humphrey Stafford, who was sent against 
him, was defeated and slain ; but soon after, 
Cade himself was killed by a gentleman of 
Sussex, of the name of Iden. Cade was 
supposed to have been set on by the duke of 
York ; and two strong parties were formed in 
the kingdom, one for the house of Lancas- 
ter, the other for the duke of York. 

This prince certainly had a better title to 
the crown than Henry, as he descended from 
the second son of Edward III. and Henry 
from the third son of that monarch. Rich- 
ard, duke of York, was a man of valour and 
abilities, and possessed of a very large for- 
tune ; his alliances were powerful, for he 
married the daughter of Ralph Neville, earl 
of Warwick ; and the earl of Salisbury also 

13 



146 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

espoused his cause : both these earls were 
highly esteemed for their personal merit, par- 
ticularly the earl of Warwick. The duke of 
York had m^.ny powerful friends besides, who 
resolved to support his title to the crown. _ 

Dreadful contests now took place ; a bat- 
tle was fought near St. Alban's in which the 
Yorkists, without much loss on their side, 
killed about 5,000 of their enemies, among 
whom were the dukes of Suffolk and North- 
umberland, the earls of Stafford and Clifford, 
and many other persons of distinction. The 
king himself fell into the hands of the duke 
of York, who obliged him to commit the au- 
thority of the crown into his hands, which 
Henry thought no hardship. This was the 
first blood spilt in that fatal quarrel, which 
was not finished in less than thirty years, 
and which was signalized by twelve pitched 
battles, attended with extraordinary cruelty : it 
it computed to cost the lives of eighty princes 
of the blood, and almost entirely to have 
annihilated the ancient nobility of England. 

Margaret's spirit could not submit to see 
her husband dethroned in this manner, and 
she soon got him reinstated by the parliament ; 
but in a short tiaie he was again taken pris- 
oner, and the earl of Warwick and other 
leaders treated him with great respect. The 
duke oi York's title was debated, and it was 
determined, that Henry should possess the 
title and dignity during his life ; that the ad- 



HENRY VI. 147 

ministration should remain with Richard, and 
that he should be declared rightful heir to 
the crown. 

Margaret, finding that they had a design to 
banish her, fled with her son, and by the 
favour of the northern barons, collected an 
army of 20,000 men. The duke of York 
met and engaged this army with 5,000 only, 
and unfortunately lost his life. Queen Mar- 
garet ordered his head to be cut off, and 
fixed on the gates of York, with a paper 
crown, in derision of his design. His son, 
the earl of Rutland, an amiable youth of 
seventeen, was killed in cold blood by lord 
Clifford ; the earl of Salisbury was beheaded, 
with severalothers, and near 3,000 Yorkists, 
killed ; the duke perished in the fiftieth year 
of his age. The king once more fell into the 
hands of his own party. 

Edward, the eldest son of the late duke of 
York, laid claim to the crown, and gained a 
great victory. Henry was taken prisoner 
and committed to the tower ; Margaret escaped 
into Flanders. 

Edward now seemed to be fixed on the 
throne, but he imprudently gave offence to the 
earl of Warwick, by marrying the widow of 
lord Grey, while the earl was gone to nego- 
tiate for him with the lady Bonor of Savoy. 
Warwick, in revenge, turned his arms and 
interest against Edward, and obliged him to 
fly the kingdom, and Henry was released 



148 LINE OF LANCASTER. 

from prison, and once more seated upon the 
throne. 

But shortly after, Edward's party collected, 
he returned and was" joyfully received, and 
Henry was again driven from his throne and 
committed to prison. A hattle was fought 
near St. Albans, in which Warwick was 
killed. 

Margaret was greatly afflicted with the 
news of this event, but soon assembled her 
friends, and the duke of Somerset headed her 
army ; but the duke of York prevailed, and 
the queen and prince were taken prisoners ; 
the latter was cruelly stabbed by the dukes 
of Gloucester and Clarence, and. Henry was 
soon after murdered in his chamber by the 
duke of Gloucester. Margaret alone was 
suffered to survive. 

Thus died Henry VI. a monarch, who, 
while in his cradle, had been proclaimed king 
of France and England, and -who began his 
life in the most splendid prosperity : he died 
March 3, 1461. 

Queen Margaret was afterwards ransomed 
by the king of France. She passed the 
remainder of her days in a private station. 



\ 
149 



TABLE XXV. 

FAMILY OF HENRY VI. 

WIFE. 

MARGARET, daughter of Regnier, titular King of Sicily, 
Naples, and Jerusalem. 

SON. 
EDWARD, Prince of Wales, murdered. 



13* 



150 LINE OF LANCASTER. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1422 The French king enlisted 15,000 Scots. 
1424 The king of Scotland ransomed. 
1430 Every person possessed of £40 per annum, obliged 
to be knighted. 

1436 Paris taken by the English. 

1437 James, king of Scotland murdered, Feb. 19. 

So great a dearth, that bread was made of fern roots 
and ivy berries. 

1447 The Bodleian library at Oxford founded. 

1448 Duke of York asserts his title to the crown. 

1449 A rebellion in Ireland. 

1450 The king and his forces defeated at Seven-oaks, by 

Jack Cade, in May. 

Cade killed, and his followers dispersed, June. 
1453 The first lord mayor's show. 

Richard Plantagenet, duke of York, encounters the 
queen's army, near Wakefield in Yorkshire, in 
which he was killed, and his army routed. 

Edward Plantagenet, earl of March, hearing of his 
father's death, took upon him the title of Duke of 
York, and in a battle, at Mortimer's-cross, near 
Ludlow, overthrew the earls of Pembroke, Or- 
mond, and Wiltshire, and beheaded Owen Tudor, 
the king's father-in-law. And in another battle 
with the queen, he killed the earls of Northumber- 
land, and Westmoreland ; the lords Dacres, Wells, 
Clifford, Beaumont, and Grey. This was the 
bloodiest battle that England ever knew: for 
there were killed that day 36,776 men. 
1454 The king defeated by the duke of York, at Barnet. 

1459 Engravings and etchings invented. 

1460 The king taken prisoner at the battle of Northamp- 

ton. 

1461 Edward, the duke of York, proclaimed king. 



151 
TABLE XXVI. 

LINE OF YORK. 
FAMILY OF RICHARD, DUKE OF YORK. 

WIFE. 

ANNE ; daughter of Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. 

SONS. 

1. EDWARD, afterwards King of England. 

2. GEORGE, Duke of Clarence, executed. 

3. RICHARD, Duke of Gloucester, usurped the crown. 



DAUGHTERS. 



1. ANNE. 

2. MARGARET. 



TABLE XXVII. 

LINE OF YORK. 

1. EDWARD IV , 1461 

2. EDWARD V 1483 

S. RICHARD III 1483 



!52 LINE OF YORK. 




A. D. 7jm W, m I 1461. 



LESSON XXIX. 
The Reign of Edward IV. 

Edward IV. eldest son to the late duke of 
York, was proclaimed king soon after the 
second battle at St. Albans ; he was in his 
twentieth year when he first obtained the 
throne. The events related at the latter end 
of the last reign therefore properly belong to 
this, as Henry VI. was deposed some time 
before his death. 

As soon as Edward got possession of the 
royal power, there was nothing but spilling of 
blood, either in the field or on the scaffold, 
and the hatred of the different parties to each 
other was implacable. All who favoured the 
house of Lancaster, wore the red rose, as a 
mark of distinction ; those of York were 
known by the white rose. 

The king being firmly seated on the throne, 



EDWARD IV. 153 

gave himself up to a life of gaiety and dissi- 
pation ; and among other bad actions, he 
seduced from her husband, a respectable citi- 
zen, Jane Shore, a woman of exquisite 
beauty, but little prudence. 

Edward engaged in a war with France, 
which ended in a treaty that did honour to 
neither of the parties. 

The duke of Clarence had engaged with 
the earl of Warwick, when he joined with 
queen Margaret ; but lie afterwards returned 
to his allegiance, and did his royal brother 
important services, yet he never was able to 
regain the king's favour, and he was still re- 
garded at court as a suspicious and a fickle 
character. The queen was his enemy, but 
he had a still more inveterate and danger- 
ous one in his brother, the duke of Glouce- 
ster, a prince of a most wicked disposition. 

A pretence was soon found for accusing 
the duke of Clarence of high treason, and 
the king his brother appeared personally 
against him as his accuser, in consequence of 
which he was found guilty by his peers, and 
sentence was pronounced against him without 
any just grounds. The only favour which 
the king granted his brother after his con- 
demnation, was the choice of his death, and 
by his own desire, as is said, the duke was 
privately drowned in the Tower, in a butt of 
malmsey wine. He left a son, who was after- 
ward created earl of Warwick, and a daugh- 



154 LINE OF YORK. 

ter, afterward countess of Salisbury, both of 
whom died violent deaths. 

In the latter part of his reign, Edward 
was intent upon forming splendid alliances 
for his daughters, though they were yet in 
their infancy, none of which took place. 
He began to think again of a French war, 
when he was seized with an illness, of which 
he died in 1482, in the forty-second year of 
his age, and the twenty-third of his reign. 

This monarch was brave, active, and enter- 
prising ; but had a great deal of severity 
and revenge in his temper, and was exces- 
sively addicted to pleasure. 



TABLE XXVIII. 

FAMILY OF EDWARD IV. 

WIFE. 

ELIZABETH, daughter of Sir Richard Woodville, and 
widow of lord Grey. 

SONS. 

1. EDWARD, Prince -of Wales, thirteen years old when 
his father died. 

2. RICHARD, Duke of York, nine years old. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. ELIZABETH, married to Henry VII. 

2. CICELY. 

3. ANNE. 

4. CATHARINE. 



HENRY IV. 155 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1461 Richard Plantagenet, brother to Edward IV. created 
duke of Gloucester. 
Henry, Margaret, their sons, and adherents, attainted 
by parliament, November 6. 

1463 Woollens, laces, ribands, and other English manufac- 

tures, prohibited importation. 

1464 Henry, in disguise, taken prisoner, and conveyed to 

the Tower. 

1469 5,000 Welch slain at the battle of Branbury. 

1470 Warwick, being offended at the marriage of Edward 

IV. landed September "13, with 60,000 men from 
France. 
Edward IV. flies to the duke of u Burgundy, his 
brother-in-law, in Holland. 

1471 King Edward, endeavouring to re-obtain the crown, 

encounters king Henry in a bloody battle, upon 
Gladmore heath, near Barnet, and King Henry 
taken prisoner a secone time. On both sides 
were slain 10,000 men. 
King Henry's queen, in a battle with king Edward, 
was taken prisoner, 3,000 on her side were slain, 
and her son Edward killed j and soon after, king 
Henry himself was murdered by the hand of the 
crook-back'd duke of Gloucester. 

1472 A plague in England destroyed more than the fifteen 

years' war preceding. 
1475 Margaret of Anjou, ransomed for £12,500. 
1481 James, king of Scotland, caused one of his brothers 
to be murdered. 
Thomas Parr born this year, and lived 152 years. 
A remarkable act was passed in this reign, which 
enacted what sort of dress each class of men 
should wear. Another enacted that no peaked 
shoes should be worn. 

• 



166 



LINE OF YORK. 



A. D. 




1483. 



LESSOxN XXX. 
The Reign of Edward V. 

Immediately after the death of his father, 
this prince, though only thirteen years old, 
was proclaimed king, but he never was crown- 
ed nor invested with the least authority ; 
during the short time he lived, his uncle the 
duke of Gloucester was contriving his death. 
Great jealousies had long existed between the 
queen's relations who had been aggrandized 
by Edward IV. and the ancient nobility. 
The earl of Rivers and the marquis of Dorset 
-were at the head of one party; the dqke of 
Buckingham, a man of very noble birth, and 
lord Hastings, the chamberlain, were the lead- 
ers of the other. With the latter were the 
lords Howard and Stanley, and all the other 



EDWARD V. 157 

barons who had no particular dependence on 
the queen, and the people in general bore 
great favour to these noblemen. 

Edward before had endeavoured to com- 
pose these quarrels ; but, after his death, the 
jealousies of all parties broke out afresh, and 
each of them endeavoured to acquire the 
favour and friendship of the duke of Glouce- 
ster, who had unbounded ambition, and no 
regard either to justice or humanity, and as 
he aspired to the crown himself, he readily 
joined with that party who wished to ruin the 
queen and her family. 

The duke very soon managed to get the 
young king into his hands, under pretence 
of conducting him to London, and caused the 
earl of Rivers, the queen's brother, who be- 
fore had the care of the young prince, to be 
arrested, also Sir Richard Grey, one of the 
queen's sons, and Sir Thomas Vaughan. 
The young king, who had been educated by 
them, and was tenderly attached to them, 
expressed great displeasure at these proceed- 
ings, and the queen fled to a nunnery for 
sanctuary, carrying with her the duke of York 
and the four princesses. Gloucester, anxious 
to have the duke in his power, proposed to 
take him by force, that he might be present 
at his brother's coronation : but the two arch- 
bishops objecting to this, it was agreed that 
they should endeavour to persuade the queen 
14 



158 LINE OF YORK. 

to compliance. These good prelates, having 
no suspicion of the duke's bad design, pre- 
vailed on the queen to give a reluctant con- 
sent ; she produced her son, and, struck as it 
were with a presage of his future fate, she 
burst into tears, and tenderly embracing him, 
took a last adieu. 

In a few days after this, the king was con- 
ducted to London, which he entered amidst 
the acclamations of the people, attended by a 
great number of noblemen, and amongst the 
rest by the perfidious duke of Gloucester, 
who rode behind him bareheaded, calling out 
to the people, " Behold your prince and 
sovereign." 

Gloucester being made protector of the 
kingdom during the king's minority, he had 
by dissimulation concealed his fierce and 
savage nature ; but he soon fully displayed it. 
His first step was to procure the deaths of the 
earl Rivers, and the rest of the prisoners at 
Pomfret, and they were, with consent of the 
council, beheaded. 

He next, by great offers, gained a promise 
from the duke of Buckingham, to support 
him in all his enterprises, and then, by means 
of Catesby, sounded lord Hastings ; but find- 
ing that this nobleman was firm in his allegi- 
ance to Edward's children, he determined 
upon his ruin ; and on the very day the 
noblemen were executed at Pomfret, he sum- 
moned a council in the Tower, to which lord 



EDWARD V. 159 

Hastings without any suspicion repaired. 
Gloucester appeared to be remarkably gay 
and good-natured, but left the council-cham- 
ber, as if called out upon business : he re- 
turned with an angry countenance,- and de- 
manded, what those deserved who had prac- 
tised against his life ; Hastings replied, " they 
should be treated as traitors." " These trai- 
tors,"^ said the protector, " are my brother's 
wife, Jane Shore, and their associates ; "see," 
said he, " what they have done by their 
witchcraft j" and showed his withered arm. 
The council well knew that he was born with 
this infirmity, and looked at each other, not 
knowing what to answer ; but Hastings ven- 
tured to vindicate Jane Shore. " And do you 
reply to me," said the protector, " with your 
ifs and ands ; you are yourself the chief 
abettor, and 1 swear, by St. Paul, I will not 
dine before your head be brought to me." 
On this he struck his hand against the wain- 
scot, and armed men rushed in, who seized 
lord Hastings, and instantly beheaded him 
on a piece of timber in the court of the 
Tower. Lord Stanley, the archbishop of 
York, the bishop of Ely, and other counsel- u 
lors were committed to the Tower. Jane 
Shore's goods were seized, she was command 
ed to do penance in a white she^ 
St. Paul's, before the whole people 
guished out the latter part of h 
tude and indigence, 



160 LINE OF YORK, 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1483 Gloucester conveyed the king to Northampton. 

Lords Hastings, Rivers, and Grey beheaded. 

The lord ma3'or, &c. at the instigation of the duke 
of Buckingham, offered the crown to the duke 
of Gloucester, who, with affected hesitation, ac- 
cepted it, June 17. 

King Edward V. and his brother, the duke of York, 
murdered in the Tower. 

Jane Shore, concubine to king Edward IV. and after- 
wards to lord Hastings, was obliged to do penance 
publicly in St. Paul's. She was afterwards starv- 
ed to death, no person being allowed to relieve 
her, and died in a ditch; to which circumstance, 
Shoreditch is said to owe its name. 

Edward V. was born in Westminster Abbey, Novem- 
ber 4, 1470; reigning two months and eighteen 
days, was murdered in the Tower, and buried 
there privately. His remains were afterwards 
found in 1674, and removed to Westminster. 

Richard, duke of Gloucester, (the English Nero,) 
proclaimed king of England. 
1485 King Richard at Bosworth was killed, and the crown 
conferred upon the earl of Richmond, and an end 
put to the wars between the houses of York 
and Lancaster, begun upon the intrusion of 
king Henry IV. and continued till the death of 
king Richard III. In which was fought 12 pitched 
battles, and 2 kings, 1 prince, 10 dukes, 2 mar- 
quesses, 24 earls, 27 lords, 2 viscounts, 1 lord 
prior, 1 judge, 139 knights, 441 esquires, and 
°4-,998 private soldiers were slain j which being 
' ,r > the number of the 638 of superior qual- 
"ars to have been killed in the quar- 
•o roses, 85,628. 



RICHARD III. 161 




AD * 1483. 



LESSON XXXI* 



The Usurpation of Richard III 

After the murder of Hastings, Glouce- 
ster no longer made a secret of his intention 
to seize the crown ; he pretended that the 
children of Edward were not the true off- 
spring of Edward, and in a short time he was 
proclaimed king by Buckingham. Richard 
soon after appointed Sir James Tyrrel consta- 
ble of the Tower, who employed three as- 
sassins to murder the two princes, by whom 
they were smothered in bed, as they lay 
sleeping by each other's side. Tyrrel, who 
stood without, while the inhuman deed was 
perpetrated, ordered their bodies to be buried 
at the foot of the stairs, very deep, under a 
heap of stones ; and in the reign of Charles II. 
the bones of two persons of the size of the 

14* 



162 LINE OF YORK. 

princes, were found in that very spot, and 
were interred, by his order, under a marble 
monument. 



LESSON XXXII. 

The death of Richard III. Tlie earl of Rich' 
mond crowned by Lord Stanley. 

Richard III. — The first acts of Richard's 
reign were to bestow rewards upon those 
who had assisted him in usurping the crown* 
and to gain the favour of those whom he 
thought most able to support him in it. The 
person who had the greatest claim to his 
favour was the duke of Buckingham, and 
Richard was very liberal to him ; but it was 
impossible that friendship could subsist be' 
tween persons of corrupt minds, and it was 
not long before Richard gave offence to 
Buckingham. 



The duke, who was related to the royal 
family of Richard II. on this, formed a con- 
spiracy against Richard's government. To> 
endure such a bloody usurper as Richard-, 
seemed to draw disgrace upon the nation,, 
and to be attended with danger to every one- 
who was distinguished by birth, merit, or 
service. All parties were unanimous in de- 
siring to destroy him : by the advice of -the 
bishop of Ely, Buckingham cast his eyes 



RICHARD III. 163 

towards the young earl of Richmond, as the 
only person who could free the nation from 
the tyranny of Richard. 

It was proposed to the queen-dowager, that 
Richmond should marry her eldest daughter, 
princess Elizabeth, and to unite the two fami- 
lies of York and Lancaster. To this the 
queen consented, and secretly borrowed a 
sum of money in the city, which she sent 
over to the earl of Richmond, and required 
his oath, that he would celebrate his marriage 
with the princess as soon as he should arrive 
in England. She advised him to bring as 
many foreign forces as he could, and promis- 
ed to join him with her party on his first 
appearance. 

This plan was secretly communicated to 
the principal persons of every county in the 
kingdom, and all were eager for its success. 
Richard having received intelligence that the 
duke of Buckingham was forming some 
design against him, put himself in a posture of 
defence, and summoned the duke to appear 
before him, promising to renew his ancient 
friendship ; but Buckingham knew his treach- 
ery too well to trust him, and replied only by 
taking up arms, which was a signal for a gen- 
eral insurrection. Unfortunately for him, his 
march was retarded by excessive rain, which 
caused the Severn and other rivers to over- 
flow. Finding himself deserted by some of 
his followers, he put on a disguisej and took 



164 LINE OF YORK. 

shelter in the house of one Bannister, an old 
servant ; but he was detected in this retreat, 
and brought to the king at Salisbury, where he 
was instantly executed. The earl of Rich- 
mond landed with 5,000 men ; but having 
just before met with a storm, and finding his 
friends dispersed, he returned back to Brittany. 

The king, now every where triumphant, 
caused his only son Edward, a youth of twelve 
years of age, to be created prince of Wales. 
He paid court to the queen-dowager, and pre- 
vailed on her to leave the sanctuary, and put 
herself and daughter into his hands. He had 
before married Anne, second daughter of the 
earl of Warwick, and widow of Edward, 
prince of W T ales, whom he helped to murder ; 
this lady died suddenly, and Richard was 
suspected of having poisoned her. He now 
proposed to marry the princess Elizabeth, and 
the queen agreed that he should do so, though 
he was uncle to the princess, and had murder- 
ed her two brothers and other relations ; and 
she even wrote to her son, the duke of Dor- 
set, desiring him to withdraw from the earl 
of Richmond. 

The crimes of Richard were so horrid and 
shocking to humanity, that every person oT 
honour and probity was anxious to dethrone 
him, and prevent his marriage with princess 
Elizabeth. In a short time, the earl of Rich- 
mond arrived at Milford-haven, in Wales, and 
every day gained new reinforcements. 



fclCHARDiIII. 165 

tlichard, who knew not where the enemy- 
Would land, had taken post at Nottingham, 
and proposed to hasten, on the first alarm, to 
the place of danger. Scarcely any nobleman 
of distinction was sincerely attached to his 
cause, but the duke of Norfolk ; the rest 
were only waiting for a favourable opportunity 
to desert from him. He was particularly 
jealous of lord Stanley, whose eldest son, 
lord George, he detained as a pledge of his 
fidelity, which obliged that nobleman to be 
very cautious in his proceedings. 

The two rivals at length approached each 
other in Bosworth-field, near Leicester ; 
Richmond, at the head of 6,000 men, the 
king with more than twice that number. 
Lord Stanley, with about 7,000, placed him- 
self near the two armies. Richard suspected 
his intention, but did not think it politic to put 
his son to death. Soon after the attack 
began, lord Stanley declared for Richmond ; 
a decisive battle was fought ; Richard, fight- 
ing with great courage to the last, was over- 
powered by numbers and slain, and his army 
entirely routed. 

As soon as the battle was over, the cry of 
— Long live Henry the Seventh! resounded 
from every quarter, and Sir William Stanley 
brought a crown of ornament, which Richard 
used to wear in battle, and placed it on the 
head of the victor. Henry, without hesi- 
tation, accepted it. 



166 LI> TT - £>F YORK. 

There fell in this battle about 5,000 of the 
vanquished, among whom were the duke of 
Norfolk, and other persons of distinction. 
The loss of* the victors was very inconsidera- 
ble. Sii William Catesby was taken, and 
soon after beheaded. 

The body of Richard was found in the 
field of battle, covered with dead enemies, 
and all besmeared with blood. It was thrown 
carelessly across a horse, carried to Leice- 
ster, amidst the shouts of insulting spectators, 
and buried in the Grey Friars church in that 
place. 

This prince was of small stature, hump- 
backed, and of a most disagreeable counte- 
nance ; he was killed the 22d of August, 
1485, in the second year of his reign. What 
became of -his son is not known. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1483 Post-horses and stages established. 

Earl of Richmond landed at Pool in ^Dorsetshire. 
Being nearly surprised by Richard, he embarked 
again, and returned to Picardy. 

1484 Anne, the queen of Richard, died March 16. 
Richard treats with Laudais, the duko of Bretagne's 

prime minister, for surprising and delivering up 
the earl of Richmond. 
Richmond, escaping from Bretagne, went to Augers, 
I in Anjou 

1485 Lord Stanley raises 5,000 men, and his brother 2,000 

with whom they joined Richmond. 

Here ends the Line of York. 



167 



TABLE XXIX. 

LINE OF TIJDOR. 

1. HENRY VII. . . .- 1485 

ft 2. HENRY VIII 1509 

3. EDWARD VI 1547 

4. MARY I 1553 

5. ELIZABETH 1558 



168 



LINE OF TUDOR. 



A. D 




1485. 



LESSON XXXIII. 



The Reign of Henry VII. 



This prince, who by the female line de- 
scended from John of Gaunt, founded his 
claim to the crown as heir to the house of 
Lancaster, and ever bore a most ' violent an- 
tipathy to the house of York, and while he 
treated them as enemies, often made them 
such. He was crowned with great splendour 
and ceremony, soon after his arrival in Lon- 
don, and, in about half a year after he came 
to the throne, he married the princess Eliza- 
beth, daughter of Edward IV. ; but his 
hatred to the house of York was so great, 
that she could never gain his affection, though 
her behaviour was virtuous and amiable in a 
high degree. This marriage gave great joy 



; 



& 



HENRY VII. 169 

to the nation, as it put an end to the dreadful 
contest which had continued for so many 
years, and caused so much bloodshed. And 
the king issued a general pardon to all who 
would accept of it : notwithstanding this, 
several rebellions were raised against him. 

There lived at Oxford one Simon, a priest, 
who, w T ith a view to disturb Henry's govern- 
ment, trained up Lambert Simnel, a baker's 
son, to personate the earl of Warwick, son of 
the duke of Clarence, who was drowned in 
a butt of malmsey. This young nobleman 
was at that time confined in the Tower. This 
impostor first appeared in Ireland, where he 
was publicly proclaimed king, by the title of 
Edward the Sixth. He afterwards proceed- 
ed to England, and landed in Yorkshire ; but 
his party was soon subdued, and Simnel and 
his tutor Simon were taken. Simon was 
detained in prison ; but Simnel, being too 
contemptible for the king's notice, was set at 
liberty, and made a scullion in the royal 
kitchen. The young earl of Warwick was 
brought out of prison, led in procession 
through the streets of London, and exposed 
at St. Paul's to the view of the people. 

Henry then proceeded to take revenge on 
his enemies, and laid heavv fines on the delin- 
quents. After he had gratified his rigour, he 
determined to content his people, by the coro- 
nation of his queen, who was accordingly 
15 



170 LINE OF TUDOR. 

crowned. He also restored the duke of 
Dorset to liberty ; but seized the queen-dow- 
ager, confiscated her. estate, and kept her a 
perpetual prisoner in the nunnery of Bermond- 
sey, where she remained some years, and 
ended her days in poverty, solitude, and con- 
finement. 

Some time after the affair of Simnel, the 
old duchess of Burgundy, who hated Henry, 
and had been a secret abettor of the old con- 
spiracy, engaged in a fresh enterprise. She 
first caused it to be reported, that the duke of 
York, second son of Edward IV. was alive, 
and set up one Perkin Warbeck, a renegado 
Jew, to personate him. This young adven- 
turer landed at Cork, and immediately as- 
sumed the name of Richard Plantagenet, and 
was received as such by the people of Ireland. 
The king of France invited him to Paris, 
settled a handsome pension upon him, and 
gave him a guard for his person. A number 
of English noblemen went over to him, 
to offer him their services, and share his 
fortunes as the supposed duke of York ; the 
duchess of Burgundy soon after acknowl- 
edged him, and gave him the appellation of 
the White Rose of England. 

The king employed many arts to discover 
the impostor : at length the whole conspiracy 
was laid open to him, with the pedigree, life, 
and conversation of the pretended duke of 
York ; the latter was published for the satis- 



HENRY VII. 171 

faction of the nation. Several noblemen, 
who had promised aid to Perkin, were exe- 
cuted, among the rest lord Stanley. 

As Perkin found the king's authority daily 
gaining ground, he collected together a band 
of pirates, robbers, and necessitous persons, 
to the number of 600, and went to Scotland, 
where he was secretly assisted by the king 
of Scots ; but on a truce being made be- 
tween England and Scotland, Perkin was 
privately desired to retire from that king- 
dom. When he afterwards landed in Eng- 
land, not having sufficient force to meet the 
king in the field ol battle, he took sanctuary 
in a monastery ; but was dragged from 
thence, taken prisoner, and set in the stocks, 
both in Cheapside and in Westminster, and 
was obliged to read his confession aloud to 
the people. His life was spared at that time, 
but he escaped from confinement, and was 
finally taken and hanged at Tyburn. 



LESSON XXXIV. 

The Reign of Henry VII. continued. 

It happened about this time, that a cord- 
wainer's son had undertaken to personate 
the earl of Warwick; this incident served 
as a pretence to the king, for trying the earl, 
who was condemned and executed. By 



172 LINE OF TUDOR. 

this act of tyranny, Henry destroyed the 
last remaining male of the line of Plantagenet. 

A marriage was concluded between Ar- 
thur, prince of Wales, and the infanta Cath- 
arine of Arragon ; the prince was sixteen, 
the princess eighteen, the prince soon after 
died, and Henry obliged his second son, 
afterwards Henry VIII. to marry her. The 
prince resisted this match as much as a 
youth of twelve years old could do ; but the 
king could not bear to restore the infanta's 
dower, which was £200,000. 

The same year he married Margaret, his 
eldest daughter, to James, king of Scotland. 
Amidst these prosperous events, the king 
lost his queen ; she was deservedly the fa- 
vourite of the people, and the general affec- 
tion was increased by his harsh treatment 
of her. 

The situation of the king's affairs being 
in every respect fortunate, and being free 
from apprehension, he gave way to his ava- 
rice, and oppressed his people shamefully, 
by which means he amassed together an in- 
credible sum of ready money. He was 
thinking of a second marriage for himself, 
when his declining health called upon him 
to direct his thoughts to a future state, which 
afforded him a very dismal prospect. 

To allay his terrors, he endeavoured, by 
distributing alms, and founding religious 
houses, to make atonement for his crimes, 
and to purchase with his ill-begotten wealth, 



HENRY VII. 173 

reconciliation with his Maker. The near 
approach of death brought fresh horrors, 
and he then ordered, by a clause in his will, 
restitution to be made to all whom he had 
injured. He died at Richmond in 1509, 
after a reign of twenty-three years, eight 
months, and the fifty-ninth year of his age. 

Historians differ much in respect to the 
character of this prince; by some, his 
severities are imputed entirely to the contin- 
ual alarms he was under; and he is said 
to have been of a very pacific disposition, a 
great promoter of trade and commerce, and 
a friend to liberty, and to have wrought a 
great change for the better in the manners of 
the people. He established the yeomen of 
the guards. 

In the beginning of this reign, a disorder 
unknown before in England, called the 
sweating sickness, carried off a great num- 
ber of people. 

Henry expended £l 4,000, in building one 
ship, called the Great Harry. Before this 
period, if the king wanted ships, he had no 
other expedient but hiring or pressing them 
from merchants. 



16* 



174 



TABLE XXX. 
FAMILY OF HENRY VII. 

WIFE. 
ELIZABETH, daughter of Edward IV. 
SONS. 

1. ARTHUR, Prince of Wales, espoused to Catharine of 
Arragon : he died before his father. 

2. HENRY: after his brother's death, created Prince of 
Wales, and espoused at twelve years of age, against his 
will, to his Brother's Widow. He succeeded his father 
in the Throne. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. MARGARET, married to James IV. of Scotland. 

2. MARY, married first to Lewis XII. of France, after- 
wards to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. 



HENRY VII. 175 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1485 The sweating sickness»raged in London. 

1486 King Henry, to balance the power of the Lords, 

found a«vay to raise that of the Commons, which 
ever smce h^fc carried a much greater sway 
thandbrmerly^BKhe government. 

1487 Lambert Simnel, wlt^j»er^onated the duke of York, 

was made a scullion in the king's kitchen. 
The star chamber instituted. 

1488 The king of Scotland, James III. killed by his sub- 

jects. 
Cape of Good Hope discovered. 

1489 Maps and sea charts first brought into England by 

Bartholomew Columbus. 
1491 The Greek language first introduced into England. 

1494 Poyning's law, which enacted that the statutes in 

England, respecting the English, should be ob- 
served in Ireland likewise, first instituted by Sir 
Edward Poyning. 

1495 Cicely, duchess of York, mother to king Edward IV. 

died, being very old, who had lived to see three 
princes born of her body, crowned, and four 
murdered. 
1497 Perkin Warbeck besieged Exeter. 

The passage to the Indies by the way of the Cape 
of Good Hope discovered. 

1499 Perkin Warbeck taken and hung at Tyburn, and the 

, last earl of the Plantagenet line was beheaded on 
Tower-hill, November 28. 

1500 A plague in London, which destroyed 30,000 of its 

inhabitants. 
A marriage was concluded between James IV. king 
of Scotland, and Margaret, the daughter of king 
Henry VII. which afterwards united England and 
Scotland under one king. 
1505 Shillings first coined in England. 



176 LINE OF TUDOR. 




a. r>. 1 mJ^WAwJr 1509 



LESSON XXXV. 

The Reign of Henry VIII. 

There was great joy in the nation at the 
accession of this prince; for his father had 
incurred the hatred of the people by his 
jealousy, severity, and avarice. Though 
but eighteen years of age, he gave the most 
promising hopes of making a good sovereign, 
by the progress he had made in his literary 
studies ; and as the contending parties of 
York and Lancaster were united in his 
person, there was reason to expect tranquil- 
lity in his reign; but the earl of Surrey, one 
of his ministers, took advantage of the king's 
lavish disposition, and engaged him in such 
a course of gaming and idleness, as rendered 
him negligent of public affairs, and willing 



HENRY VIII. IT* 

to trust the government of the state entirely 
to his ministers; thus the treasures which 
the late king had accumulated, were gradu- 
ally dissipated in frivolous expenses. 

Shortly after Henry's accession to the 
throne, he married to Catharine of Arragon, 
a princess remarkable for her virtue, mod- 
esty, and sweetness of temper, but some 
years older than himself, and not very hand- 
some. The countess of Richmond died soon 
after the marriage of her grandson. 

At the beginning of his reignj Henry was 
happy, both in his domestic administration 
and the situation of foreign affairs, and his 
alliance was courted by most of the princes 
of Europe; but it was not long before he 
engaged in a war with France, which in- 
jured the king of France, but produced no 
advantage t.o England. Henry had at that 
time a minister who flattered him in every 
scheme to which his sanguine and impetu- 
ous temper was inclined. This favourite 
was Thomas Wolsey, a man of abilities and 
learning, the son of a butcher at Ipswich. 
He had been employed by the late king, 
who intended to have preferred him. Wol- 
sey very soon gained an entire ascendancy 
over his young sovereign, who made him his 
sole and absolute minister. In this exalted 
post, Wolsey was haughty to his equals, but 
affable to his dependents, oppressive to the 
people, but liberal to his friends, and he 



!78 LINE OF TUDOR. 

lived in the most ostentatious magnificence ; 
but his ambition made him many enemies.' 
Henry invaded France with a great army, 
but to very little, purpose. The war with 
Scotland was soon ended by a decisive bat- 
tle, and the king, with many of the Scotch 
nobility, were slain. Margaret queen of 
Scotland, was declared regent during the 
minority of her son ; and Henry, taking 
compassion on the helpless condition of his 
sister and nephew, was very kind to them. 

Wolsey was loaded with honours and pre- 
ferments by the king, and the pope made 
him a cardinal, and afterwards legate, or 
his embassador in England. Under'the last 
character, he usurped unbounded power 
and gave great offence to the nation. 
< Francis I. king of France, excited the 
jealousy of Henry by his warlike exploits • 
but his enmity was prevented from taking 
effect by the artifices of Cardinal Wolsey 
whom the king of France had secretly gain- 
ed over to his interest. 

During some years, many parts of Europe 
had been agitated with religious controver- 
sies, which at length brought about the Re- 
formation. Martin Luther, an Augustine 
friar, openly preached against the practices 
of the pope and the errors of the church of 
Rome ; and many sovereigns countenanced 
him. At first, Henry opposed Luther, and 
wrote a book against him. 

When the king had been married eighteen 



R-ENRY VIIL 179 

years, he began to entertain scruples con- 
cerning the lawfulness of his marriage with 
his brother's widow, and applied to the pope 
for a divorce, but could not obtain it. This 
was a particular disappointment to him, as 
he had fixed his affection on Anne Boleyn, 
daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, a young 
lady of extraordinary beauty and accom- 
plishments, who was one of the maids of 
honour to the queen. Before a marriage 
with her took place, Wolsey lost the king's 
favour, and he was required to give up most 
of his great offices, and to depart from York- 
house, a palace which he had built in Lon- 
don, afterward called Whitehall. All his 
plate and rich furniture were seized, and he 
was ordered to retire to Ashe, a place which 
he possessed near Hampton court. About 
a year after his disgrace, Wolsey died, and 
Thomas Cranmer became the king's favour- 
ite, a man of great talents and integrity. 

At this period the Reformation from 
Popery began to take place in England, and 
the Lutheran princes of the empire assumed 
the appellation of Protestants. Henry, en- 
raged against the pope, for not granting the 
divorce he solicited, determined to throw off 
his obedience to Rome, and to marry Anne 
Boleyn, whom he had before created mar- 
chioness of Pembroke. The marriage was 
celebrated privately, but ratified publicly 
some time afterwards, and she was crowned 
with extraordinary pomp and dignity, and 



180 LINE OF TUDOR. 

Cranmer declared the marriage with Catha- 
rine null and void. 

Queen Anne soon after had a daughter, 
who was baptized by the name of Elizabeth, 
and the king conferred on her the title of 
princess of Wales. He sent to queen Cath- 
erine, to inform her that she was from that 
time to be treated only as a princess-dowa- 
ger of Wales ; but she never would submit 
to this degradation. 

The pope was enraged when he heard of 
these proceedings ; but Henry entirely threw 
off his authority, and the parliament confer- 
red on the king the title of the only supreme 
head of the church in England ; yet Henry 
did not embrace the Protestant faith, but re- 
garded it as a heresy, and many persons 
were martyred for openly professing it. 

John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, a pre- 
late of great learning and piety, and Sir 
Thomas More, chancellor, were both be- 
headed for denying the king's supremacy. 

In the midst of the disputes between Hen- 
ry and Rome, queen Catharine died, and 
left a daughter named Mary. 

Henry now determined to exert his power 
in suppressing the monasteries, and seizing 
the lands belonging to them ; by which he 
greatly increased the revenues of the crown. 

Queen Anne favoured the Reformation ; 
but, unfortunately for the party, as well as 
for herself, the king was grown tired of her, 
and shortly after brought her to a public 



HENRY VIII. 181 

trial for a crime which she was not guilty 
of, and she was condemned to be beheaded, 
a sentence to which she submitted with the 
utmost meekness and resignation. 

The day after her execution, the king 
married Jsne Seymour, the daughter of Sir 
John Seymour; she was one of the late 
queen's maids of honour. 

The princess Mary, daughter of queen 
Catharine, was taken into the king's favour; 
but he gave a decided preference to the 
princess Elizabeth ; and the new queen 
showed great attachment to her. 

The change in religion, and demolishing 
the monasteries, occasioned insurrections in 
the kingdom ; quietness however, was soon re- 
stored, and Henry's joy was completed by the 
birth of a son ; but the queen died two days 
afterwards. 

Cranmer, who was now archbishop of 
Canterbury, and Thomas Cromwell, the son 
of a blacksmith, formerly a dependent on 
Wolsey, whom the king had raised to be his 
favourite, took every opportunity of drawing 
him from the Catholic faith ; but bishop Gar- 
diner and bishop Bonner kept him in sus- 
pense, and several persons were burnt for 
differing from the king in religious opinions, 
for he thought himself entitled to settle the 
faith of the whole nation, though he had not 
determined his own ; and his uncertainty of 



16 



182 LINE OF TUDOR. 

humour gave each party the advantage of 
triumphing in their turns. 

Soon after the death of queen Jane, Crom- 
well advised a match for the king with Ann 
of Cleves, whose father had great influence 
with the Lutheran princess ; she was accord- 
ingly sent for, and Henry married her; but 
as she was neither handsome in her person, 
nor elegant in her manners, he wasdisgusted 
with her, and displeased with Cromwell. 

This lady was easily persuaded to consent 
to a divorce, and the king married Catha- 
rine Howard, neice to the duke of Norfolk. 

Henry thought himself very happy in his 
new marriage ; but shortly after discovered 
that Catharine was a woman of very licen- 
tious conduct; so he caused her to be 
brought to trial, and beheaded on Tower- 
hill, and the countess of Rochford with her, 
who had been the chief instrument in bring- 
ing Anne Boleyn to the block. 

Before this event, Cromwell, at the insti- 
gation of the duke of Norfolk, was beheaded. 

After this, the king married Catharine 
Parr, the widow of Nevil, lord Latimer, a 
woman of discretion and virtue, who man- 
aged his temper with prudence and success ; 
but she had very nearly shared the fate of 
her predecessor, for differing from him in a 
point of divinity. 

An ulcer broke out in the king's leg, 
which from his corpulency threatened his 
life. As his health declined, his ill-humour 



HENRY VIII. 183 

increased ; his domestics were afraid to ap- 
proach him, and his cruelties were more 
frequent. Sometimes Protestants, and some- 
times Catholics were the objects of his 
severity. 

The duke of Norfolk and his son were 
the last that he caused to be arrested on a 
charge of high treason ; the latter was im- 
mediately tried, condemned, and executed, 
for a crime of which he was wholly guilt- 
less. 

The innocence of the duke of Norfolk 
was still apparent, and his services to the 
crown had been greater. All the crime that 
could be alleged against him was, that he 
once said the king was sickly and could not 
live long. He wrote a most pathetic letter 
to the king ; but nothing could soften Henry's 
unrelenting temper. He found his own end 
approaching; but, instead of forgiving the 
duke, he urged his immediate destruction, 
and orders were given for his immediate exe- 
cution ; but happily for Norfolk, news. was 
brought that the king had expired that night, 
and it was not thought proper that a new 
reign should begin with the execution of the 
greatest nobleman in the kingdom, who had 
been condemned by a sentence so unjust and 
tyrannical. 

Though the king's danger was very appa- 
rent, no one had dared to acquaint him with 
it; at last, Sir Anthony Denny ventured to 
disclose the fatal secret, and exhorted him 



184 LINE OF TUDOR. 

to prepare for his latter end. He express- 
ed his resignation, and desired that Cran- 
mer might be fetched ; but before he arrived, 
the king was speechless, though he seemed 
to reta'n his senses. Cranmer desired him 
to give some sign of his dying in the faith of 
Christ; he squeezed his hand, and immedi- 
ately expired. He died in 1547 in the 
fifty-sixth year of his age, and thirty-seventh 
of his reign. 

This prince certainly was of a very cruel, 
tyrannical disposition, as appeared by his 
whole behaviour, both in his public and 
private life. 

If he contributed to bring about the Re- 
formation, it cannot be imputed to religious 
zeal, but to a regard to the gratification of 
his own passions. In the early part of his 
life, his person was much admired ; but as 
he grew older, it was spoiled by corpu- 
lency. 

In this reign an English translation of the 
Bible was undertaken by a convocation of 
the most learned divines, and completed in 
three years. At first the bible was only 
allowed to be read in churches ; but after- 
wards private families were permitted to 
have it in their houses; this privilege still 
continues, and ought to be reckoned one of 
the greatest belonging to the kingdom; for 
when the Scriptures were confined to lan- 
guages known only to the learned, the gen- 



HENRY VIII. 185 

eralily of the people were kept in deplora- 
ble ignorance, and knew no more of reli- 
gion than the priests chose to teach them. 

Happj> would it be for the nation, if every 
one was fully sensible of this advantage, 
and applied himself to the study of the 
sacred volume. 



TABLE XXXI. 

FAMILY OF HENRY VIII. 

WIVES. 

1. CATHARINE of Arragonj divorced. 
%. ANNE BOLEYN, daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn; 
beheaded. 

3. JANE SEYMOUR, daughter of Sir John Seymour; 

died in child-bed. 

4. ANNE of Cleves; divorced. 

5. CATHERINE HOWARD, niece to the Duke ojf Nor- 

folk: beheaded. 

6. CATHARINE PARR, widow of Nevil : survived him. 

SONS. 

EDWARD, Prince of Wales, the son of Jane Seymour, 
who succeeded him. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. MARY, daughter of Catharine of Arragon : afterwards 

queen. 

2. ELIZABETH, daughter of Anne Boleyn: afterwards 

queen. 



16' 



385 LINE OF TUDOR. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1513 Earl of Surrey gained the battle of Flodden-field, 

over the Scots, whose king, James IV. fell in the 
contest. 
King Henry invades France in person, takes Ter- 
win and Tournay, at the siege of which, the em- 
peror Maximilian served under the king's pay. 
At which siege likewise, was fought that battle 
called the battle of Spurs, because the English 
put some of the French troops to flight who made 
great use of their spurs. 

1514 Enacted, that surgeons should not sit on juries, nor 

be employed in parish offices. 
1517 Oxford depopulated by stagnated waters. 

Martin Luther began the reformation in Germany. 
1521 King Henry derived the title to him and his succes- 
sors of Defender of the Faith, from writing a 
book against Luther. 
Musquets first invented. 
1530 The palace of St. James built. 

1535 Brass cannon first cast in England by John Owen. 

1536 376 monasteries suppressed. 

1533 Leaden pipes to convey water invented. 

1530 645 religious houses seized, and their property 

amounting to £161,000, given to the king. 
The number of monasteries suppressed in England 

and Wales, were 313, Priories 290, Friaries 122, 

Nunneries 142, Colleges 152, and Hospitals 129 : 

In all 1148. 

1543 Mortars and cannon first cast in iron. 

1544 Pistols first used. 

1545 William Foxley slept fourteen days, and lived forty- 

one da}-s after. 
1547 The vows of celibacy before taken bj' priests annul- 
led, and the communion ordered to be administer- 
ed in both kinds. 



EDWARD VI, 



187 



A. D. 




154T. 



LESSON XXXVI. 



The Reign of Edward VI. 

This prince was little more than nine 
years old when his father died. Henry VIII. 
by his will appointed sixteen executors, to 
whom he entrusted the government during 
his son's minority. To these he added 
twelve counsellors, to whom he gave no 
power, but they were to assist with their ad- 
vice. The executors soon after chose the 
earl of Hertford protector; this nobleman 
was by the mother's side uncle to the king ; 
he was soon after created duke of Somerset. 

The protector had for some time been 
secretly a partizan of the reformation, and, 
as soon as he was established in his authori- 
ty, he scrupled not to discover his intention 



188 LINE OF TUDOR. 

of overturning the ancient religion. He 
took care that all who were concerned in the 
education of the king should be of the same 
principles with himself, and the young mon- 
arch discovered a zeal for every kind of lit- 
erature, far beyond his years, particularly 
for theology ; and the Romish religion 
rapidly declined in the kingdom. 

The person who made most opposition to 
the reformation was Gardiner, bishop of 
Winchester. The protector in all his 
schemes for reformation, had recourse to 
Cranmer, who was a man of prudence and 
moderation. 

The protector endeavoured to unite the 
two kingdoms of England and Scotland, by 
means of a marriage between the king and 
the young queen of Scots; but the queen- 
dowager, and the clergy of Scotland, were 
averse to an alliance with a nation which 
had departed from the ancient principles of 
religion, and shortly after they sent the 
queen into France, with a design to marry 
her to the dauphin. 

Immediately after the death of Henry 
VIII. his queen married lord Seymour 
brother to the protector, a man of insatiable 
ambition, arrogant, assuming, and implaca- 
ble. The two brothers entertained the 
most violent jealousy of each other, and the 
duchess of Somerset, uneasy that the young- 
er brother's wife, as queen-dowager, should 



EDWARD VI. - 189 

have the precedency, widened the breach; 
but in a short time the queen died. 

Dudley, earl of Warwick, one of the late 
king's executors, inflamed the quarrel be- 
tween the two brothers, in order to raise his 
own fortune on the ruin of both ; by his 
persuasion the duke of Somerset signed a 
warrant for committing his brother to the 
Tower, and some of his accomplices were 
likewise taken into custody ; still the pro- 
tector showed a reluctance to ruin his broth- 
er, and offered to desist from the prosecu- 
tion, if he would retire into the country and 
lead a private life; but lord Seymour de- 
manded a trial, instead of which a bill of 
attainder was passed in parliament, and he 
was executed on Tower-hill. Bishop Bon- 
ner was deprived of his see, and imprisoned, 
for not confoiming to the new principles of 
religion, and some persons were burnt as 
heretics. 

The rigorous measures brought the whole 
nation to a conformity, either seeming, or 
real; the princess Mary alone adhered to 
the mass, and refused to admit the establish- 
ed mode of worship. 

There were great discontents against the 
duke of Somerset, and many complaints 
made of his demolishing churches to build 
himself a palace in the Strand, and of his 
acquiring an immense estate suddenly, at 
the expense of the crown and the church, 
and a powerful conspiracy was formed 



190 LINE OF TUDOR. 



against him ; at length he was deprived of 
all his offices, and fined two thousand pounds 
a year, after which he was admitted again 
into the council. 

A proposal was afterwards made for 
marrying the king to Elizabeth, a daughter 
of the king of France ; this was very alarm- 
ing to the Protestant party in England, as 
the king of France was a great persecutor 
of the Protestants ; but in all other respects 
the council steadily promoted the Reforma- 
tion, and very violent measures were em- 
ployed against Gardiner, and other bishops 
of the Romish persuasion. 

A committee of divines was ordered, by 
the council, to compose a new Liturgy, for 
the service of the church. The parliament 
established a new form of worship, and made 
an act for the uniformity of public worship 
throughout the kingdom. 

The princess Mary still adhered to the 
mass, which gave great uneasiness to the 
young king. 

Lord Warwick was made duke of North- 
umberland, and obtained great possessions 
in the north ; but his ambition did not stop 
here, he wanted to ruin the duke of Somer- 
set, who had thrown out some threats against 
him. In one night the duke of Somerset, 
and several others were arrested and carried 
to prison, and soon after Somerset was 
brought to the scaffold, on Tower-hill, 
amidst crowds of spectators who bore him 



EDWARD VL 191 

sincere kindness, and expected his pardon, 
till the fatal stroke put an end to their hopes. 
Some of his friends were also condemned 
and executed. 

The health of the young king declined 
very fast; the duke of Northumberland, by 
plausible reasoning, endeavoured to per- 
suade him to exclude his sisters, and name 
lady Jane Grey as his successor. He next 
engaged the king to bestow the title of duke 
of Suffolk, which was extinct, on the marquis 
of Dorset, lady Jane's father ; and then 
prevailed on the duke of Suffolk to give his 
daughter in marriage to lord Guilford Dud- 
ley, his favourite son. The ambitious duke 
negotiated also some other alliances to 
strengthen his own interest. The people, 
who loved their king, were enraged at see- 
ing such demonstrations of joy during his 
illness. He had had the small-pox and 
measles the year before, from which he 
recovered; but a cough settled upon his 
lungs, and threw him into a consumption. 
The duke of Northumberland at last effect- 
ed his purpose of getting the princesses 
Elizabeth and Mary set aside, and the crown 
settled on the heir of the duchess of Suffolk, 
for the duchess herself was content to give 
place to her daughter. 

After this settlement, the king's health 
visibly grew worse, his physicians were dis- 
missed by Northumberland, and he was put 
into the hands of an ignorant old woman. 



192 LINE OF TUDOR. £ 

After the use of her medicines, all the bad 
symptoms increased to a violent degree, and 
the youthful monarch soon after died at 
Greenwich, on the 4th of July, )55j, in the 
sixteenth year of his age, and seventh of 
his reign. 

The excellent qualities, and real virtues 
of this young prince, had made him an ob- 
ject of tender affection to his people, and 
his death was greatly lamented. He was 
very handsome in his person, and engaging 
in his address. 

This amiable young king founded Christ's 
Hospital. 

In this reign, Boulogne was given up to 
the French, for the sum of 400,000 crowns. 



EDWARD VI. 193 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1547 E^ning 1 prayers began to be read in English in the 

king's chapel, April 16. 

Popish images burnt in London. 

The Scots refusing to marry their young queen to 
king Edward, (according to their promise in his 
father's life-time,) the protector enters Scotland 
with an army of 12,000 foot, and GOO horse, and 
fights them in Pinkney field, near Musselborough, 
and kills 14,000 Scots, and takes 1,500 prisoners, 
having lost but 60 of his own men. 

1548 Some ceremonies were now abrogated, and an order 

of council against the carrying of candles on 
Candlemas-day, ashes on Ash-Wednesday, and 
palms on Palm-Sunday. 

Priests allowed to marry. 
1551 The sweating-sickness broke out this year in Eng- 
land with such contagion, that 800 died in one 
week of it in London. Those that were taken 
with it were inclined much to sleep, and all that 
slept died : but if they were kept awake a day, 
they got well. 

A college founded in Galway in Ireland. 

Common-prayer books established by act of parlia- 
ment. 

Monks and nuns allowed inheritances. 

Sternhold and Hopkins translated and put the psalms 
into verse. 
1553 There was so great a plenty of malt and wheat, that 
a barrel of beer with the cock sold for six-pence, 
and four great loaves for one penny. 

The king founded St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Bride- 
well, improved the hospital of Christchurch and 
St. Thomas' hospital, Southwark. 
17 



194 



A.D. 




1553. 



LESSON XXXVII. 



The Reign of Queen Mary. 

The duke of Northumberland, sensible of 
the opposition he should meet with, tried to 
get the two princesses into his power; but 
JMai*y received intelligence of his treacher- 
ous design, and of the death of the king, 
and hastily retired to Framlingham, in Suf- 
folk, with a view of escaping into Flanders. 

Northumberland went to Sionhouse, ac- 
companied by the earl of Pembroke, and 
others of the nobility, and they approached 
lady Jane as sovereign. She, who was in a 
great measure ignorant of their transactions, 
received them with equal grief and surprise, 
refused to accept the crown, pleaded the 
preferable right of the princesses, expressed 
her dread of the consequences of placing 
her on the throne, and desired to remain in 
a private station. Overcome at last with 



MARY. 195 

the entreaties of her father, father in-law, 
and husband, lady Jane submitted to their 
will, and was immediately conveyed to the 
Tower, where it was usual for the sovereigns 
of England to reside for a few days at their 
accession. Orders were given for proclaim- 
ing her qween throughout the kingdom ; but 
they were executed in London only, and 
heard there with silence and concern. 
Shortly after, Mary arrived and was pro- 
claimed with joyful acclamations. 

Mary immediately gave orders for taking 
into custody the duke of Northumberland, 
and several of his family ; she afterwards 
confined the duke of Suffolk, lady Jane Grey, 
and lord Guilford Dudley, but pardoned 
some of them. The duke of Northumber- 
land, Sir Thomas Palmer, and Sir John 
Gates, were beheaded ; sentence was pro- 
nounced on lady Jane Grey and lord Guil- 
ford : but without any immediate intention 
of putting it in execution : the youth and 
innocence of the parties, neither of whom 
were seventeen years old, pleaded strongly 
in their favour. The joy which the nation 
feit at the succession of the rightful heir to 
the crown, was soon damped by the conduct 
of Mary, who was so bigoted to the Romish 
religion, that she resolved to re-establish it 
in the kingdom. 

Gardiner, Bonner, and other bishops, who 
had been deprived of their sees in the late 
reign were restored ; all preachers through- 



196 LINE OF TUDOR. 

out England, excepting such as could procure 
a license, were silenced. 

Several bishops of the Protestant persua- 
sion were thrown into prison, and soon after, 
old Lat : mer shared the same fate, and mass 
was restored. 

Gardiner, who was prime minister, did 
every thing in his power to persuade the 
queen to moderate measures, and gave the 
same advice to Charles, emperor of Germa- 
ny, who sought the alliance of England, by 
marrying his son Philip to queen Mary, but 
without success. 

In a short time the marriage between 
Philip and Mary was determined upon. 

It was agreed that Philip should have the 
title of king: but that the government should 
constantly remain with the queen. This 
marriage treaty occasioned great discontent, 
and an insurrection broke out, headed by 
Sir Thomas Wyat, which was with difficulty 
suppressed ; but at length he was taken and 
executed. 

It was reported that Wyat had accused 
the princess Elizabeth, and the earl of Dev- 
onshire of being concerned with him ; but 
on the scaffold he took care to acquit them. 
However, Mary, who hated her sister, and 
had obliged her to live in the country, seiz- 
ed the opportunity of this rebellion to com- 
mit her to the Tower, and ordered her to be 
strictly examined by the council ; but the 
princess made so good a defence, that the 



MARY. 197 

queen was obliged to release her. Soon 
alter she was imprisoned at Woodstock, for 
refusing to marry the earl of Savoy ; and the 
earl of Devonshire, who was suspected of 
being attached to Elizabeth, was confined in 
Fotheringay castle. This rebellion proved 
still more fatal to lady Jane Grey and her 
husband. Warning was given to lady Jane 
to prepare for death, and Romish divines 
were sent to persuade her to change her 
religion ; but she continued steadfast in the 
Protestant faith to the last, and submitted 
herself to the stroke of the executioner with 
the utmost serenity, though she saw her hus- 
band led to execution, and his headless 
body brought back in a cart; for her 
thoughts were fixed upon immortality. 

The duke of Suffolk, her father, was exe- 
cuted soon after, and lord Thomas Grey, 
and in a short time the prisons were full of 
nobility and gentry. 



LESSON XXXVIII. 

The Reign of Mary, continued. 

Philip came over to England, and was 
married to the queen ; but he was disliked 
for his proud behaviour, and the Spaniards 
were so hateful to the English, that Mary 

17* 



198 LINE OF TUDOR. 

could never succeed in getting him declared 
presumptive heir to the crown. He endeav- 
oured to make himself popular, by procuring 
the release of princess Elizabeth, the earl 
of Devonshire, and other persons of distinc- 
tion. 

By the advice of bishop Gardiner, it was 
resolved to put the laws in force against the 
Protestants, and a dreadful persecution took 
place. 

Ridley, bishop of London, Latimer, for- 
merly bishop of Worcester, two prelates cel- 
ebrated for learning and virtue, were burnt 
at the stake, in Oxford; and several other 
dignitaries of the church, and multitudes of 
people beside, both men and women. 

Bishop Gardiner, who did not think mat- 
ters would be carried to such extremities, 
left the office of persecutor to bishop Bon- 
ner, a man of a most brutal, savage charac- 
ter, who seemed to rejoice in the torments 
of the unhappy sufferers. An attempt was 
made to introduce the Inquisition into Eng- 
land, and a formal embassy sent to Rome, 
to carry the submission of England, and beg 
to be re-admitted into the bosom of the 
church. This the nation opposed, but the 
queen complied as far as depended upon 
herself. About this time bishop Gardiner 
died, and the great seal was given to Heath, 
archbishop of York, that he might, by his 
authority, forward the persecution of the 
Protestants. 



MARY. 



These measures were opposed by the 
parliament, and thev would not grant the 
supplies the queen required : this increased 
her ill-humour, which was before very great, 
on account of the neglect and indifference of 
her husband, who had left her and gone 
over to Flanders some months before. 

Mary now gave herself up to grief and 
despondency, and passed most of her hours 
in solitude; the chief part of the govern- 
ment to which she attended, was the extor- 
tion of money from her people, in order to 
satisfy the demands of her husband, and she 
exacted so much, that many of the gentry 
were obliged to retrench their expences, and 
dismiss their servants, a number of whom, 
having no means of subsistence, took to rob- 
bery ; the queen's rapaciousness occasioned 
her also to give continual disturbance to 
commerce. 

Philip was lately become king of Spain, 
by the voluntary resignation of his father, 
Charles V. who retired into a monastery, 
where he soon experienced the ingratitude 
of his son. 

Archbishop Cranmer, who had long been 
detained in prison, was, after a great deal of 
ill-treatment, condemned to be burnt for 
heresy. 

In order to please Philip, the queen em- 
ployed all her arts to engage the English to 
take part with him in a war with France, 
and she contrived to send him an army of 



200 LINE OF TUDOR. 

10,000 men; but this interference proved 
unfortunate, as it occasioned the loss of 
Calais, which was taken by the duke of 
Guise from the English, who had held it 
above 200 years. "This raised great mur- 
murs against the queen and her council. 

Soon after this loss a close alliance was 
made between France and Scotland, by the 
marriage of the young queen of Scots with 
the dauphin. 

During the whole reign of Mary, the 
English were under great apprehensions 
with regard to the succession, and for the 
life of the princess Elizabeth; but that 
princess very prudently retired into the 
country, spent the greatest part of her time 
in reading and study, saw but little company, 
did not intermeddle in stale affairs, carefully 
concealed her religious sentiments, and com- 
plied with the established modes of worship, 

Mary for a long time was in a declining 
state of health, and a most unhappy state of 
mind, which brought on at last a slow fever 
and dropsy, of which she died November 
15, 1558, after a short and unfortunate reiga 
of five years and four months. 
_ This queen possessed very few good qual- 
ities, and her person was as little engaging 
as her behaviour and address. Cardinal 
Pole, who had been made archbishop of 
Canterbury in the room of Cranmer, and 
who had long been sickly, died the same 
day as the queen ; he was universally belov- 



MARY. 201 

ed, for the modesty and humanity of his 
disposition. 

At this time England was in many respects 
in a very rude slate; there was scarcely a 
chimney to any of the houses, even in con- 
siderable towns, the fire was kindled by the 
walls, and the smoke found its way out at 
the roof, door, or windows. The houses 
were nothing but watling, plaistered over 
with clay. The common people slept on 
straw pallets, and had a good round log 
under their heads for a pillow ; and almost 
all the furniture and utensils were of wood. 

Mary had no children. 



202 LINE OF TUDOR. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1553 Judge Hales, in his circuit into Kent, required the 

justices to see to the execution of king Edward's 
laws : for which he was committed, and removed 
from prison to prison, and threatened so, that he 
attempted to cut his own throat, and at last 
drowned himself. 

1554 The laws against Lollards and Heretics were revived, 

and the statutes of Mortmain repealed. 

There was at this time a discovery in London of the 
impostor of the Spirit of the Wall, who, by the 
help of a whistle, uttered several things relating 
to religion, and the state, through a hole in a 
wall. It was found to be Elizabeth Croses, and 
one Drake, her accomplice,- who were both made 
to do penance for it publicly at St. Paul's. 

Scory, bishop of Chichester, renounced his wife, and 
did penancs for his marriage. 

It is supposed there were 1^,000 of the clergy de- 
prived for being married, and most of them were 
judged upon common fame, without any process, 
but a citation. 

1555 The church lands, in the queen's possession, restored. 
Coaches first used in England. 

1556 3C0 protestants burnt for heresy. 

1557 This year began with a visitation of the Universities. 

Commissioners were sent to Oxford, where they 
burnt all the English Bibles and heretical books 
they could find ; and took up the bodj' of Peter 
Martyr's wife, who they said was a heretic, and 
buried it in a dung-hill. And at Cambridge they 
dug up the bodies of Bucer and Fagius, two 
hereticks, and tied their coffins to stakes, and 
burnt them and their heretical books together. 
Cardinal Pole died November 15. 



ELIZABETH. 



203 



A. D. 




1558. 



LESSON XXXIX. 



The Reign of Queen Elizabeth. 



** 



When queen Mary's death was announc- 
ed to the parliament, the house immediately 
resounded wiih u Long live queen Elizabeth, 
long and happily may she reign !" and in 
her way from Hatfield to London, she was 
attended by crowds of people, who express- 
ed the sincerest joy at her accession. When 
the queen entered the Tower, she fell on 
her knees, and returned thanks to God for 
delivering her from her bloody persecutors; 
she prudently buried in oblivion all former 
offences, and received with affability even 
those who had acted with the greatest ma- 
levolence towards her; but when Bonner 
came, with the other bishops, she turned 
from him as a just object of horror. 

Philip, husband of the late queen, made 



204 LINE OF TUDOR. 

proposals to marry Elizabeth, but she wisely 
declined them. 

At the time of her coronation, the queen 
was conducted on N horseback through Lon- 
don, amidst tne joyful acclamations of her 
subjects, and great magnificence was display- 
ed on the occasion. A boy, personating 
Truth, who was let down from one of the 
triumphal arches, presented to her a Bible; 
she received the book in the most gracious 
manner, pressed it to her bosom, and de- 
clared that, amidst all the costly testimonies 
which the city had that day given her of 
their attachment, this was the most valuable. 

Elizabeth was at this time twenty-five 
years of age, and though not remarkable 
for her beauty, her manners were so pleas- 
ing that she gained all hearts. 

In a short time a bill was brought into 
parliament for abolishing the mass, restoring 
the Liturgy of Edward VI. and establishing 
the supremacy of the queen. When urged 
by the parliament to make choice of a hus- 
band, Elizabeth replied, that England was 
her husband, and all Englishmen her child- 
ren, and that it was her wish to remain 
unmarried. 

While the queen and parliament were em- 
ployed in settling the national religion, peace 
with France 3nd Scotland was concluded. 
The next heir to Elizabeth, was Mary, queen 
of Scots, married to the dauphin of France ; 
those who were attached to the Romish 



ELIZABETH. 205 

religion, thought this princess had a better 
title to the crown than Elizabeth, and the 
king of France advised the dauphin to quar- 
ter the arms of England with his own, and 
take the title of king of England ; on which 
account Elizabeth conceived the most vio- 
lent jealousy against the queen of Scots, and 
the affairs of Scotland soon gave her an 
opportunity of revenging the injury and 
providing for her own safety. 

Dreadful civil wars broke out in Scotland, 
in which the Protestant party were as furi- 
ous against the Catholics, as the Catholics in 
England had been against the Protestants. 

The Catholics were supported by France. 
Elizabeth instantly took vigorous measures 
to break the alliance between France and 
Scotland, which succeeded, and by her aid, 
the Protestant party became entire masters 
of the kingdom, and settled the presbyterian 
form of discipline. 

In a short time Mary's husband, who was 
become king of France by the death of his 
father, died suddenly, and this queen finding 
her abode in France disagreeable, returned 
to her native country. She had now reach- 
ed her nineteenth year, and the bloom of her 
youth and beauty was still farther recom- 
mended by the affability of her address, the 
pcrliteness of her manners, and the elegance 
of her genius ; she was received in Scotland 
with joy and affection 5 but had a very un- 

18 



206 LINE OF TUDOR. 

quiet reign, for the Protestants were never 
reconciled to her government; she constant- 
ly regretted having left France, and soon 
found that her only expedient formaintaining 
tranquillity, was to preserve a good corres- 
pondence with Elizabeth : but she very im- 
prudently urged a request to that monarch, 
to be declared successor to her crown, which 
Elizabeth rejected. This claim being laid 
aside, the two princesses appeared to be cor- 
dial friends, and letters filled with the most 
amicable expressions, passed between them. 
Elizabeth continued to govern her own 
kingdom with great wisdom and equity ; she 
so increased the English navy, and promoted 
trade, that she was justly styled, the Resto- 
rer of Naval Glory, and the queen of the 
Northern Seas. She had many suitors, both 
among foreign princes, and her own nobility ; 
but rejected them all, and declared for a 
single life. 



LESSON XL. 
TJie Reign of Elizabeth, continued. 

The g.-eat rival powers in Europe at this 
time were Spain and England. Philip, king 
of Spain, at the head of the Catholics, Eliza- 
beth at the head of the Protestants ; and it 
was not long before war broke out between 
them. 

Some years afterwards, Mary queen of 



ELIZABETH. 207 

Scots, fell into the hands of her enemies, 
who treated her in the most rigorous manner, 
compelled her to resign the crown in favour 
of the young prince, her son ; and he was 
proclaimed by the title of James the Sixth. 

Elizabeth disclaimed these proceedings; 
and hearing a little while after, that Mary had 
escaped from confinement, she promised to 
protect her; but her jealousy prevailed over 
every principle of generosity, and she detain- 
ed Mary in England, under pretence of guard- 
ing her from her enemies ; nor would she ad- 
mit the royal fugitive into her presence, 
though often solicited to hear her vindication 
of herself; but sent different persons to her 
to hold conferences, who only furnished Eliza- 
beth with reasons for confining her more 
. strictly, and reducing her to a state of abso- 
lute captivity. 

At last Mary was tried for being concerned 
in a conspiracy against the life of the queen 
of England and condemned to be beheaded. 
Elizabeth hesitated some time before she 
would suffer the sentence to be executed; 
but at length she signed the fatal warrant, 
and the unfortunate queen was ordered to 
prepare for death. Mary received this 
awful summons with a cheerful and smiling 
countenance, and welcomed the approach of 
death, as the end of all her miseries; and 
was beheaded in Fotheringay Castle, in 1587, 
in the forty-fifth year of her age, after 
eighteen years' imprisonment. 



208 LINE OF TUDOR. 

Elizabeth was, or affected to be, extremely 
grieved at the death of Mary, and expressed 
great anger against her ministers and coun- 
sellors, for putting to death, as she said, her 
dear sister and kinswoman, contrary to her 
purpose. 

King. James expressed the highest resent- 
ment for the treatment of his mother, and 
prepared to make war upon England ; but 
was obliged to desist, and was by degrees 
reconciled to the nation. 



LESSON XLI. 
The Reign of Elizabeth, continued. 

The war was carried on between Spain 
and England; the latter gained great advan- 
tages, both by sea and in the Spanish settle- 
ments in the West Indies, by which the naval 
officers and volunteers were greatly enriched. 
At length an account was received, that 
Philip was making vast preparations for in- 
vading England. 

A prodigious fleet was equipped, able offi- 
cers appointed, the most renowned nobility 
of Spain and Italy were ambitious of engag- 
ing in this enterprise, and the Spaniards arro- 
gantly called their navy the Invincible 
Jirmada. 

The queen made the best preparation she 
could for resistance, the merchants and gen- 



ELIZABETH. 209 

try furnished additional vessels, and the sea- 
coast was well lined with land-forces ; but 
still, in respect to numbers, the English fleet 
was much inferior to that of the enemy. 

The queen, however, undismayed by pres- 
ent danger, issued her orders with tranquillity, 
and animated her people to steady persever- 
ance : she also engaged the king of Scots to 
assist her. The more to excite the martial 
spirit of the nation, Elizabeth appeared on 
horseback at the camp at Tilbury, and, riding 
through the lines with a cheerful countenance, 
declared her resolution, though a woman, to 
lead her troops herself against the enemy, 
and rather perish in battle than survive the 
ruin and slavery of her people. 

Just as the Spanish Armada was ready to 
set sail, the marquis of St. Croce, the admi- 
ral, was seized with a fever and died. The 
vice-admiral shared the same fate. At length, 
however, the fleet sailed from Lisbon ; but 
the next day, a violent storm scattered the 
ships, sunk some of the smallest, and damaged 
many of them. As soon as they were repair- 
ed, the ships proceeded towards England, 
and arrived in the Channel on the 19th of 
July. Lord Effingham, the British Admiral, 
had just time to get out of harbour, when he 
saw the Armada sailing towards him, disposed 
in the form of a crescent, and stretching the 
distance of seven miles from one extremity 

*8* 



210 LINE OF TUDOR. 

to the other. He was soon reinforced by all 
the nobility and gentry, who had provided 
themselves with vessels, and, after many ren- 
counters, the Spaniards were defeated and 
driven away ; a violent tempest overtook 
them, and so many ships were wrecked, that 
not half the Armada returned to Spain. 

After this, the Spaniards sustained great 
losses by the attacks which the English made 
every year on their jaavy and their territories. 

Among the able commanders who conduct- 
ed the Spanish war with success, was the 
earl of Essex ; he was the queen's parti- 
cular favourite; but his high spirit made 
him sometimes forget the respect due to his 
sovereign, and he was very unsuccessful in 
the affairs of Ireland, which had nearly been 
lost by his mismanagement. His enemies, 
the chief of whom were the earl of Notting- 
ham, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Robert Cecil, 
and lord Cobham, placed spies upon him ; 
and their unfavourable report, and his own 
precipitate conduct, occasioned him to be re- 
peatedly confined and examined by the coun- 
cil : at length he was brought to trial, with 
lord Southampton, for a conspiracy, and 
sentence passed on both of them. 

The queen was strongly inclined to pardon 
Essex, and recalled the warrant for his exe- 
cution ; but was prevailed on to sign it again, 
and, finding that he made no application for 
mercy, she yielded to his enemies, and let it 



ELIZABETH. 211 

take effect, and he was privately beheaded in 
the Tower. This nobleman was no more 
than thirty-four years of age, when his rash- 
ness and violence brought him to an untimely 
end. Some of his associates were tried and 
executed ; lord Southampton's life was spared, 
but he remained a prisoner. 

About two years after the death of Essex, 
the countess of Nottingham, being on her 
death-bed, earnestly desired to see the queen, 
to whom she confessed, %at she had been 
employed by the unfortunate Essex, after his 
condemnation, to carry to her majesty a ring, 
which she had given as the pledge of her 
affection, with a promise, that, let his disgrace 
at any time be what it would, she would give 
him a patient hearing, and receive his apology. 

The queen, astonished at this instance of 
perfidy, burst into a furious passion ; she 
shook the dying countess in her bed, crying 
out, that " God might pardon her, but she 
never could ;" she then broke from her, and 
from that hour resigned herself up to the 
deepest melancholy, rejected all consolation, 
refused food, and, throwing herself on the 
floor, declared that life was a burthen to her, 
and vented her grief continually in groans 
and tears : in this condition she lay upon a 
carpet, leaning upon cushions. When her 
end was visibly approaching, Elizabeth named 
the king of Scots as her successor. Soon 



212 LINE OF TUDOR. 

after this she expired, in the seventieth year 
of her age, and fiftieth of her reign. 

This queen had great qualities for govern- 
ing, and her name will ever be glorious for 
the success of the British arms under her 
wise and prudent administration, and her 
steady support of the Protestant religion ; but 
she was subject to passions, which led her 
into actions that reflect great discredit on her 
memory. 

This queen wrote and translated several 
books, and was intimately acquainted with 
the Greek and Latin languages. 

In the third year of her reign, Elizabeth 
was furnished by her silk-woman with a pair 
of black silk knit stockings, which she said 
were marvellous delicate wear ; and she 
never wore cloth ones any more. 

About the year 1571, pocket watches were 
first introduced into England from Germany. 

About 1580, the use of coaches was in- 
troduced by the earl of Arundel; before that 
time the queen, on public occasions, rode on 
horseback behind her chamberlain. 

Post-houses are supposed to have been first 
established in England in this reign. 

In the fifth of Elizabeth, the first law for 
the relief of the poor was enacted. 

In this reign, Sir Thomas Gresham, an em- 
inent merchant, built the Exchange, for the 
reception of merchants; queen Elizabeth 
visited it, and called it the Royal Exchange. 



ELIZABETH. 213 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1559 Public worship ordered to be in English, May 8. 
The laws, enacted in the preceding reign, to es- 
tablish popery, were repealed. 

Sir Nicholas Bacon was the first Lord keeper that 
had all the dignity and authority of the lord chan- 
cellor conferred on him. He was one of the most 
learned, pious, and wisest men of the nation, 
father to the great Sir Francis Bacon, viscount 
St. Albans, and lord chancellor of England, who 
will be always esteemed one of the greatest 
glories of the English. 

Brass money called in, and the coin restored to its 
purity. 

1560 The spire of St. Paul's steeple, 520 feet high, and all 

the roof, was burnt down by lightning. 

1562 Sham O'Neal, earl of Tyrone in Ireland, submitted 

himself to Elizabeth, who granted him his pardon. 

1563 The thirty-nine articles of the protestant religion es- 

tablished by convocation. 
Persons killing or destroying others by witchcraft, 
conjuration, or enchantment, to be punished as 
felons without benefit of clergy. 

1564 Shakspeare born, April. 

1565 David Rizzio, secretary to Mary queen of Scots, 

murdered in her presence. 
Queen Elizabeth excommunicated by the pope. 

1572 The duke of Norfolk is beheaded for privately treat- 
ing of a marriage with Mary queen of Scots, and 
conspiring to depose queen Elizabeth. 

1580 Sir Francis Drake returned from his voyage round 
the world, November 3. 

1553 The Spanish Armada defeated. 

Here ends the line of Tudor. 



214 



TABLE XXXII. 
SUCCESSOR TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. 
JAMES VI. of Scotland : son to Mar}', Queen of Scots. 



TABLE XXXIII. 

LINE OF STUART. 

1. JAMES I. 1603 

2. CHARLES I. ...... .^.. . . 1625 

3. CHARLES II 16^ 

4. JAMES II ". 1685 

5. MARY II , 1688 



JAMES I. 



*15 



A. D. 




1603. 



LESSON XLII. 



The reign of Janus I. 



This prince was great-grandson of Marga- 
ret, the eldest daughter of Henry VII. ; his 
title to the crown of England was admitted 
without opposition. 

Queen Elizabeth left the nation in such 
flourishing, circumstances, that her successor 
came to the throne with great advantages ; 
but his new subjects could not but draw un- 
pleasant comparisons between the affable and 
popular manners of the departed monarch, 
and the reserved appearance of their new 
sovereign : however, James soon showed that 
ha was not destitute of affection or gratitude, 
for he was lavish of favours and titles, and 
left all the chief offices in the hands of En- 
glish ministers. 



216 LINE OF STUART. 

The love of peace was James's ruling 
passion ; and it was happy for him, that the 
times rendered the same object in the highest 
degree advantageous to his people. 

Amidst the great tranquillity with which 
the nation was blessed, a conspiracy was dis- 
covered, designed to subvert the government, 
and place upon the throne Arabella Stuart, a 
near relation of the king. A number of per- 
sons were accused of being concerned in it : 
among whom were lord Cobbam, lord Grey, 
Sir Griffin Markham, Sir Walter Raleigh, and 
two Catholic priests, named Watson and 
Clarke ; the two latter were executed, Ra- 
leigh was reprieved, and the others were 
pardoned, after they had laid their heads 
upon the block. 

The meeting of parliament was for some 
time delayed, on account of the plague, 
which broke out in London ; but when it met, 
the members endeavoured to lessen the pre- 
rogatives of the crown (or those rights which 
belonged particularly to the king, and which 
neither lords nor commons could control, 
without altering the constitution of the king- 
dom, or manner of government in England.) 
James earnestly urged the union of the two 
kingdoms over which he reigned ; but the 
parliament opposed it, which gave him great 
offence. 

In the year 1604, peace with Spain was 
finally concluded. In the same year, the 



JAMES I. 217 

Gun-powder plot was discovered, and happily 
prevented from being put in execution. It is 
said to have been contrived by one Catesby, 
a gentleman of good parts, and of an ancient 
family, with a design to destroy, by one blow, 
the king, the royal family, the lords, and com- 
mons. 

Catesby communicated this horrid plot to 
Percy ; and they agreed to Jet a (ew more 
into the secret ; among the rest, Thomas 
Winter, who was sent over to Flanders in 
quest of Fawkes, an officer in the Spanish 
service, whose bigotry to the Romish religion, 
and courage, they were all well acquainted 
with. 

When the whole plot was concerted, Percy 
hired a vault, which had been a magazine 
for coals, under the House of Lords. Into 
this place thirty-six barrels of gun-powder 
were conveyed, and the whole covered over 
with faggots and billets ; the doors of the 
cellar were then boldly thrown open, and 
any body admitted, as if it contained nothing 
dangerous. 

The king, the queen, and prince Henry, 
were all expected to be present at the open- 
ing of the parliament ; the duke, on account 
of his tender age, would have been absent ; 
but they intended to seize him and assassi- 
nate him ; and to seize also the princess Eli- 
zabeth, a little infant, and proclaim her queen. 

19 



218 LINE OF STUART. 

The dreadful secret, though communicated 
to above twenty persons, had been kept up- 
wards of a year and a half. Ten days before 
the meeting, lord Monteagle, a Catholic son 
to lord Moseley, received a letter, which 
warned him to absent himself from parlia- 
ment. Monteagle knew not what to make of 
this letter, so he carried it to lord Salisbury, 
secretary of state ; and he laid it before the 
king, who was of opinion that it implied some- 
thing dangerous and important ; and from an 
expression in it, he thought it denoted some 
contrivance by gun-powder, and it was thought 
advisable to search all the vaults beneath the 
houses of parliament. This care belonged 
to the earl of Suffolk, lord chamberlain ; who 
purposely delayed the search till the day 
before the meeting of parliament. He re- 
marked there great piles of wood and fag- 
gots, which lay under the House of Lords ; 
and he cast his eye upon Fawkes, who stood 
in a dark corner, and passed for Percy's ser- 
vant. About midnight, a justice of the peace 
was sent, with proper attendants, who found 
Fawkes just as he had finished his operations ; 
and, turning over the faggots, they discovered 
the powder. The matches, and every thing 
proper for setting fire to the train, were found 
in Fawkes's pocket, and the hardy villain ex- 
pressed regret, that his design of firing the 
powder was disappointed ; but shortly after, 
on being threatened with the rack, he made 



JAMES I. 219 

a full discovery of the other conspirators. 
Catesby and Percy were killed by the popu- 
lace ; others were taken, tried, and executed; 
and some of the Roman Catholic noblemen 
were fined and imprisoned. 

Great disagreements arose in the succeeding 
years, between the king and his parliament 
about supplies ; he was too profuse, and they 
not sufficiently liberal to him. 

Henry, prince of Wales, died in 1612, in 
the eighteenth year of his age. The English 
sincerely regretted the loss of a prince, whom 
they thought would promote the glory of the 
nation ; and they lamented bis death the more 
on account of the disgust they had taken to 
the king, whom they considered as a conceit- 
ed pedant, and an arbitrary monarch, and 
whom they disliked also for his excessive 
profusion to his favourites. The first of these 
was Robert Carre, whom he prided himself 
in educating, and raised him first to the rank 
of viscount Rochester, and afterwards to 
that of earl of Somerset. 

Another of the king's favourites was George 
Villiers, whom he employed as his cup-bearer, 
and in the course of a few years created him 
viscount Villiers, earl, marquis, and duke of 
Buckingham, and knight of the garter; be- 
stowed the highest offices upon him, and 
suffered him to control him in every thing. 

Some time after the death of prince Hen- 
ry, the king married his daughter, the princess 



LINE OF STUART. 



Elizabeth, to Frederick, elector-palatine : this 
marriage proved unhappy in the event both 
to the king and his son-in-law. 

Sir Waller Raleigh, after having been im- 
prisoned thirteen years, prevailed on the king 
to send him out with a fleet in search of a 
gold mine, which he pretended formerly to 
have discovered in Guiana : on the failure of 
this enterprise, Raleigh at his return was 
executed, under a sentence passed upon him 
many years before. This gave great dissat- 
isfaction to the nation, as Sir Walter had rea- 
son to suppose his former offences pardoned. 

James had formed a plan for an alliance 
with Spain, by marrying his son Charles, 
prince of Wales, to the infanta, daughter to 
the Spanish monarch ; but Buckingham con- 
trived to break off the match, which brought 
on a war with Spain, and embarrassed James 
greatly ; for he was utterly averse to war, and 
much involved in debt. 

Shortly after, a treaty of marriage was set 
on foot between the prince and the princess 
Henrietta, daughter of the king of France: 
but before it was concluded, the king was 
seized with a tertian-ague, which put an end 
to his life. He died on the 27th of March, 
1625, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. He 
reigned over England twenty-two years, and 
over Scotland from his infancy. 

This king was ill-qualified to command 
respect, for he was very awkward in his man- 



JAMES I. ' 221 

ners ; partial and undiscerning in his affections, 
he could not expect the general love of his 
people. He was exposed to ridicule for his 
vanity ; but exempt from hatred, by his free- 
dom from pride and arrogance. Upon the 
whole, it may be said of his character, that 
all his qualities were sullied by weakness, but 
embellished by humanity. He was the author 
of several books. 

In the reign of James I. lived the famous 
lord Bacon. 

In the plague of London, above 30,000 
people are computed to have died in one year. 
A great comet also appeared in this reign. 

What chiefly renders the reign of James 
memorable, is the commencement of the 
English colonies in America. 

The first sedan-chair was seen in England 
in this reign. It was used by the duke of 
Buckingham, to the great indignation of the 
people, who exclaimed, that he employed his 
fellow-creatures to do the service of brutes. 

The gentry of England at this time resided 
chiefly at their country-seats, to the great 
comfort and advantage of their poor depend- 
ents, and very much to their own advantage. 
The king would often say to them, " Gentle- 
men, at London, you are like ships in the 
sea, which show like nothing ; but in your 
country villages, you are like ships in a river, 
which look like great things." 

19* 



222 LINE OF STUART. 

London was at that time almost entirely 
built of wood, and a very ugly city. The 
earl of Arundel first introduced the general 
practice of brick buildings. 

Greenland is supposed to have been discov- 
ered about this period, and the whale-fishery 
carried on with success. 

The trade to the East Indies was fully 
established in this reign ; and copper half- 
pence and farthings began to be used instead 
of leaden tokens. 



TABLE XXXIV. 

FAMILY OF JAMES I. 

WIFE. 

ANNE, of Denmark, who died 1619, 

SONS. 

1. HENRY, Prince of Wales, died before his father. 

2. CHARLES, Duke of York, afterwards Prince of Wales, 

who succeeded his father. 

DAUGHTER. 

ELIZABETH, married to Frederick, Elector Palatine. 
She was mother to Princess Sophia, and Grandmother 
to George I. 



JAMES I. 22S 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1604 The present translation of the bible made. 

1605 The gun-powder plot discovered. 

The channel for the New River allowed to be cut. 
97,304 persons died in London, this year, whereof 
68,596 died of the plague. 

1608 Virginia planted by the English. 

1609 East India company's patent removed. 
Chelsea college founded. 

Allum brought to perfection by Sir J. Bouchier. 
Silk-worms first brought into England. 

1610 Thermometers invented. 

King Henry IV. of France murdered at Paris, by 
Ravillac, a popish priest. 

1611 Bartholomew Legat was condemned by the convo- 

cation for an Arian heretic. 
Legat was burnt at Smithfield for an Arian. 

1612 Edward Wightman of Burton, burnt at Lichfield for 

a heretic. 
1614 Sir Thomas Overbury poisoned in the Tower. 
The New River brought to London. 
An inundation of the sea overflowed an extent of 
twelve miles in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. 
1618 Sir Walter Raleigh is executed for high treason, at 
the instigation of the Spanish ambassador. 
The poet Shakspeare flourished during the beginning 
of this and the latter part of the preceding reign. 
Synod of Dort began: who generally agreed to con- 
demn the doctrines of Arminius, concerning 
election, reprobation, and the universality of 
Christ's death, and man's redemption by it. But 
herein the king lost his aim, for this censure 
made these doctrines the more prevalent, 

1623 The fatal Vespers at Black- Friars. 

1624 Amboyna'a bloody cruelty. 



224 



LINE OF STUART. 



A. D. 




,63^ 



LESSON XLIII. 

The Reign of Charles I. 

The House of Commons, during the reign 
of James, had conceived a design to new- 
model the government, by reducing the royal 
prerogative within narrow limits j so that the 
king should have less power than former 
kings ; and the people, meaning the House of 
Commons, which represented the people, 
more privileges than they formerly enjoyed; 
there were among the commons very able 
men to bring about this alteration. 

The young king, unsuspicious of their 
design, began his reign with full confidence, 
that the parliament would grant him the sup- 
plies he stood in need of. 

But the first parliament that assembled, dis- 
appointed his hopes, by voting him a very 
scanty supply. This treatment he highly 
resented, and, in order to equip a fleet, he 



CHARLES I. 225 

exerted his royal prerogative, as former kings 
had done in times of necessity, by demanding 
benevolences from his subjects. This was 
represented as injustice in him, and occasion- 
ed great discontent, which was increased by 
the failure of an expedition against Cadiz, 
which had been intrusted to the duke of 
Buckingham. This nobleman had gained 
entire influence over the king, who supposed 
him to be equally in favour with the parlia- 
ment ; but many of the members bore the 
duke great ill-will, and resolved to check his 
power. 

The next parliament that met was deaf to 
the king's earnest remonstrances, and voted 
him a sum far short of what he had occasion 
for; on which he required every maritime 
town, with the assistance of the adjacent 
counties, to equip as many vessels as were 
appointed them. The city of London was 
rated at twenty ships. This was the begin- 
ning of a tax, called ship-money, which after- 
wards gave great discontent to the nation. 

The puritanical party was become very 
strong in the kingdom, many of the leading 
members in the house of commons had secret- 
ly embraced the tenets of that rigid sect ; 
these were inveterate against the Roman 
Catholics, and entertained great jealousies of 
the king's inclination to favour the latter, as 
he had married a Catholic princess; the king 
on his side, maintained his prerogative, and 



226 LINE OF STUART. 

imprisoned several members for sedition. In 
the midst of these disputes, the duke of 
Buckingham was assassinated at Portsmouth, 
as he was conversing with some French gen- 
tlemen. He had only time to say, " The 
villain has stabbed me," before, drawing out 
the knife, he expired. The assassin proved 
to be one Felton. 

Soon after, an irreconcileable breach was 
made between the king and the commons. 
On their persisting in several things which he 
deemed injurious to him, he dissolved the 
parliament, and determined to act for him- 
self, and do without them in future. 

After the death of Buckingham, Charles's 
queen was his chief friend, to whom he at- 
tached himself most affectionately, and she 
was deserving of his high regard, being, on the 
whole, a worthy character, though a little in- 
clined to passion, and too partial to the 
Roman Catholics. 

The king's chief minister was Sir Thomas 
Wentworth, made afterwards earl of Straf- 
ford, who merited his confidence. 

Laud, bishop of London, had great influ- 
ence over the king : he was a man of extra- 
ordinary zeal, and very inveterate against the 
Puritans. 

While there was no parliament, the king 
continued to demand ship-money, which was 
regarded as a great grievance. John Hamp- 
den, a gentleman of fortune, in Buckingham- 



0HARLES I. 227 

shire, refused to comply with it, and brought 
the matter to a trial. He lost his cause, but 
was applauded by the people. 

The sect of the Puritans increased greatly, 
though Laud used his utmost endeavours to 
suppress them, and, finding themselves re- 
strained in England, many of them shipped 
themselves for America ; but their enemies 
prevailed on the king to issue a proclamation, 
debarring them from going ; and eight ships, 
lying in the Thames, ready to sail, were stop- 
ped. In these were embarked Sir Arthur 
Hagley, John Pym, and Oliver Cromwell, 
who had resolved forever to abandon their 
native country. 

Numbers of persons were tried in a most 
arbitrary manner, in a court called the Star 
Chamber ; great severities were exercised by 
Laud, and many complaints were made of 
infringements on the rights and privileges of 
the people. 

Dreadful disturbances arose in Scotland : 
the people, under a pretence of the dread of 
popery, would not suffer the liturgy to be 
read ; the king lost his authority by endea- 
vouring to establish it. A new government 
was formed at Edinburgh, under the title of 
the Four Tables ; the first act of which was 
the production of the Covenant, by which 
those who signed it obliged themselves to 
resist any attempt to alter their religion, and 
to defend each other against any opposition 



228 LINE OF STUART. 

whatever. All kinds of people flocked to 
sign it, and those who did not, were reckoned 
traitors to their country. 

In vain the king endeavoured to stop these 
proceedings ; he was obliged to have recourse 
to arms ; which reduced him to the necessity 
of once more calling a parliament, after 
eleven years intermission. Instead of being 
moved by the king's necessities to assist him 
against his Scottish subjects, the commons 
seized the opportunity of accomplishing their 
original purpose of lessening his prerogative. 
The king expressed a willingness to enter 
into an accommodation for the good of the 
nation ; but they still kept back the requisite 
supplies ; and not knowing what measures to 
pursue, Charles hastily dissolved the parlia- 
ment, which produced great discontent in the 
kingdom. 



LESSON XLIV. 

The Reign of Charles I. continued. 

In a short time the king thought it expedi- 
ent to call the parliament together again, who 
entered upon business, and struck a decisive 
blow, by impeaching first the earl of Strafford, 
whom they considered as prime minister, and 
afterwards archbishop Laud, both of whom 
were committed to the Tower. The Com- 



CHARLES I. 229 

mons very soon got all the power into their 
own hands, and prepared a heavy charge 
against the earl of Strafford, who was after- 
wards tried before both houses of parliament 
in Westminster-Hall, on a charge of high 
treason. The earl, in his defence, showed 
the utmost magnanimity ; but his enemies 
were determined upon his death, and the 
populace were excited to be clamorous against 
him. The king, being urged to consent to 
his death, found himself in so difficult a situa- 
tion, that he knew not what course to take. 
Strafford, hearing of Charles's irresolution, 
wrote a letter, in which he entreated the king, 
for the sake of the public peace, to put an 
end to his unfortunate, however innocent, life. 
After the most violent anxiety and doubt, the 
king yielded, signed the death-warrant, and 
Strafford was soon after beheaded on Tower- 
hill. 

The parliament went on abridging the 
power of the monarch, and made some im- 
portant reformations in the state, among which 
may be reckoned their abolishing the high- 
commission court, and the court of the Star- 
chamber. 

The Scottish parliament took advantage of 
the king's helpless situation, and obliged him 
to agree to whatever laws it saw fit to enact. 

A conspiracy was formed in Ireland by the 
Roman Catholics, and a most dreadful massa- 
20 



230 LINE OF STUART. 

ere of the English was the consequence of it. 
All kinds of barbarities were practised, and 
no sex, age, or condition was spared. 

When the king received an account of this 
insurrection, he communicated the intelligence 
of it to the Scottish parliament; but they 
paid little regard to the distresses of the 
English, or the authority of their sovereign, 
and Charles found himself obliged to have 
recourse to his English parliament, who seiz- 
ed the opportunity of exalting themselves, 
and depressing him, with a view of putting an 
end to the royal authority. Charles finding 
his difficulties increasing every day, took 
some precipitate, indiscreet measures, which 
gave his enemies great advantage over him ; 
and being in the utmost danger from an en- 
raged multitude, he retired to Hampton-court, 
deserted by all the world, and overwhelmed 
with grief, shame, and remorse, for the fatal 
steps he had taken. 

In order to secure the authority they had 
gained, the Commons resolved to assume the 
power of appointing generals, levying armies, 
and raising a militia ; and, under pretence of 
the terrors of popery, they petitioned the king 
to agree to this. So unreasonable a request 
enraged the king, and he replied, that he 
would not give up the command of his army 
even for an hour. This refusal broke off all 
farther communication, and each party now 
had recourse to arms; and a dreadful civil 



CHARLES I. 231 

War was carried on in the kingdom ; in the 
beginning of which, the king's party gained 
several victories. The battle of Marston- 
moor was the first that proved unfortunate to 
him, in which Oliver Cromwell, who com- 
manded the rebel army, got the better of 
Prince Rupert, who commanded the Royalists. 

Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, who had 
long been a prisoner in the Tower, was now 
brought to his trial and executed. Immedi- 
ately after his death, the liturgy of the church 
was abolished by parliament, and the puritan- 
ical establishment took the place of it. 

Sir Thomas Fairfax, by the assistance of 
Oliver Cromwell, introduced the new model 
into the army ; different officers were appoint- 
ed, and the whole military force put into such 
hands as they could rely on. 

On the 14th of June, 1645, a decisive bat- 
tle was fought at a village named Naseby, in 
Yorkshire. The army of the parliament pre- 
vailed, and the king was obliged to fly, leav- 
ing all his cannon and baggage behind him, 
and upwards of 4,000 prisoners. After this 
battle, the king retired to Wales, in hopes of 
recruiting his forces, but without success. 

The king's affairs now went fast to ruin in 
all quarters ; and, with the remains of a 
broken army, he fled to Oxford, and shut 
himself up : in the mean while, Fairfax and 
Cromwell pursued their victories with unin- 
terrupted success. The prince of Wales, in 



232 LINE OF STUART. 

pursuance of the king's orders, went over to 
France, and joined the queen at Paris. 

The condition of the king during the winter, 
was to the last degree disastrous and melan- 
choly ; but. his vigour of mind never deserted 
him, and he resolved, if he could not live as 
king, to die like a man of honour, that none 
of his friends might have reason to blush 
for the prince whom they had so unfortunately 
served. He made repeated attempts for a 
peaceful accommodation with his parliament, 
but without success ; they absolutely refused 
a safe conduct to London, and gave orders to 
seize his person in case he should attempt to 
visit them. 

At last, with the hope that the Scotch 
would be moved with compassion at seeing 
their native prince in such distress, he resolved 
to seek their protection, and escaped from 
Oxford to Newark, where the Scottish army 
was encamped. 

They received him with outward marks of 
respect ; but he soon found himself no better 
than a prisoner, very strictly guarded. The 
Scottish generals required him to issue orders 
to Oxford, and all his other garrisons to sur- 
render ; and he was obliged to comply. Fair- 
fax, far from allowing violence, would not 
even permit insolence or triumph over the 
unfortunate royalists, and by his generous 
humanity, this cruel war was ended, in ap- 



CHARLES I. 233 

pearance, very calmly between the two par- 
ties, after four years continuance. 

As soon as the English parliament heard 
that the king had put himself into the power 
of the Scotch, they entered into a negociation 
for his being delivered up to them ; which the 
Scots, to their very great disgrace, consented 
to, on condition of receiving from the English 
the sum of £400,000 which they pretended 
to be due to them. And soon after, through 
the contrivance of Oliver Cromwell, the army 
got possession of the king's person. At 
length the parliament was under the necessity 
of submitting to the army, and the leaders of 
the latter ventured to bring the king to Hamp- 
ton-court, where he lived with an appearance 
of dignity and freedom, and was universally 
admired for the meekness and equality of his 
behaviour. 

After a time, some intelligence which the 
king received of intended treachery, induced 
him to take a resolution of retiring from 
Hampton-court; but instead of getting into 
a place of safety, he unfortunately was pre- 
vailed on to go to the Isle of Wight. His 
enemies did not fail to make their advantage 
of this false step ; Cromwell in particular, in 
concert with Ireton, employed all his arts to 
destroy him ; and at last, under pretence of 
being inspired by heaven, he, in a secret 
council, advised that the king should be 
20* 



234 HNE OF STUART. 

brought to justice, and punished by a judicial 
sentence, for his pretended tyranny, and mal- 
administration. 



LESSON XLV. 
The Reign of Charles I. continued. 

The next step which Cromwell took was 
to intimidate the parliament, in order to make 
them fall in with all his measures ; and he so 
far succeeded, as to lead them on from one 
act of violence to another, till the king was 
in reality dethroned, and the whole constitution 
overthrown. 

On the king's refusing his assent to bills 
which were framed to ruin him, Hammond, 
who was governor of the Isle of Wight, by 
orders from the army, removed all his ser- 
vants, cut off his correspondence with his 
friends, and shut him up in close confinement. 
To be speedily poisoned or assassinated, was 
the only prospect Charles had before his eyes, 
for he had no thoughts of a public trial- 
Amidst all these calamities, he found consola- 
tion in religion, and preserved his benignity 
and cheerfulness, and reposed a firm trust 
and confidence in God. 

However, a commission of five peers and 
six commoners was sent to the Isle of Wight y 
to treat with the king. He yielded to all their 
demands, except two : he would neither give 



CHARLES I. 235 

up his friends to punishment, nor desert his 
religious duty, This negociation was so long 
in hand, that the army had leisure to execute 
their violent and sanguinary purposes ; by 
multiplied successes they subdued all their 
enemies, and none remained but the helpless 
king and parliament to oppose their violent 
measures. By Cromwell's suggestion, they 
sent to the parliament, demanding punishment 
of the king for the blood spilt during the 
war, and required a dissolution of the present 
parliament. At the same time they sent colo- 
nel Eure to seize the king's person, and con- 
vey him to Hurst Castle. The parliament 
issued orders that the army should advance 
no nearer to London ; but the generals, in 
defiance of them, marched to the capital, and 
placed guards in such a manner as to sur- 
round the parliament. 

Three days afterwards, colonel Pride, 
formerly a dragoon, environed the House of 
Commons with two regiments, and, directed 
by lord Grey, of Gooby, suffered no members 
to enter but about fifty or sixty, who agreed 
in principles with Cromwell and his party. 
This small number immediately proceeded to 
business, and committed to prison several 
principal members. These sudden and vio- 
lent resolutions held the whole nation in terror 
and astonishment, and greatly affected trade 
and commerce. 

The next step was a motion in the House 



236 LINE OF STUART. 

of Commons, to appoint a high court of justice 
to try Charles for treason. This vote was* 
sent up to the House of Peers, who unani- 
mously rejected it; on which the commons 
resolved to depend on their own authority in 
this wicked measure ; and colonel Harrison, 
the son of a butcher, was sent to conduct the 
king to London ; all the outward symbols of 
severeignty were now withdrawn from him, 
and bis attendants were encouraged to treat 
him with rudeness and disrespect ; but the 
king bore this, as he had done his other calam- 
ities, with patience. 

Soon after his arrival, Charles was sum- 
moned to his trial before the high court of 
justice, as it was called ; where he was im- 
peached as a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and a 
public and implacable enemy to the common- 
wealth. 

The king, three different times, with great 
temper and dignity, declined the authority of 
the court, refused to submit himself to their 
jurisdiction, and behaved with such true 
greatness of mind, as does the utmost honour 
to his memory. 

As soon as the intention of trying the king- 
was known in foreign parts, all men exclaim- 
ed against it; the Scots and Dutch employed 
their good offices to prevent it ; the queen 
and prince of Wales wrote pathetic letters 
to the parliament; the king's particular 
friends, Richmond, Hertford, Southampton. 



CHARLES I. 237 

and Lindsey,entreatedthe commons to consid- 
er them as the guilty persons, and spare their 
innocent sovereign ; but all these united ef- 
forts were vain : sentence was passed upon him, 
and three days only allowed him before his 
execution. This interval he spent chiefly in 
reading and devotion. All his family that re- 
mained in England were allowed access to 
him : these were only the princess Elizabeth 
and the duke of Gloucester ; the latter was 
little more than an infant. Holding him on 
his knee, the king said, " Now they will cut 
off thy father's head." At these words the 
child looked very steadfastly upon him. 
" Mark, child, what I say : they will cut off 
my head, and perhaps make thee a king ; but 
mark what I say : thou must not be a king as 
long as thy brothers Charles and James are 
alive. They will cut off thy brothers' heads 
when they can catch them ; and thy head too, 
they will cut off at last ; therefore, I charge 
thee, do not be made a king by them." The 
duke, sighing, replied. "1 will be torn in 
pieces first." This determined answer, from 
so young a child, filled the king's eyes with 
tears of joy. 

The poor princess Elizabeth showed, by 
her behaviour, that she was very sensible of 
the calamities of her family. 

The street before Whitehall was the place 
appointed for the execution of the unfortunate 
monarch. On the fatal day the king came 



238 LINE OF STUART. 

forth, attended by the pious and good bishop 
Juxton. Observing the scaffold to be so sur- 
rounded with soldiers, that he had no chance 
of making himself heard by the people, 
Charles addressed himself to the few persons 
that were about him, in the same strain of 
gentleness and humility which he had all 
along maintained. Though innocent towards 
the people, he acknowledged the equity of his 
execution in the sight of his Maker, and ob- 
served, that an unjust sentence, which he had 
suffered to take effect, was now punished by 
an unjust sentence upon himself, (alluding to 
his signing the warrant for the death of the 
earl of Strafford. He forgave all his ene- 
mies ; but exhorted the whole nation to re- 
turn into the way of peace, by paying obedi- 
ence to his son, his lawful successor. 

When he was preparing himself for the 
block, bishop Juxton called to him : Ci There 
is, Sir, but one stage more, which, though 
turbulent and troublesome, is yet a very short 
one ; consider, it will soon carry you a great 
way, from earth to heaven ; and there you 
shall find to your great joy, the prize to which 
you hasten, a crown of glory !" " I go^ 1 - 
replied the king, " from a corruptible to art 
incorruptible crown, where no disturbance can 
have . place." — At one blow his head was 
severed from his body, by an executioner 
who hid his face in a mask ; another, in the 



CHARLES I. 239 

like disguise, held it up, and cried aloud, 
u This is the head of a traitor." 

It is impossible to describe the grief, indig- 
tion, and astonishment which took place 
throughout the whole nation, as soon as this 
report was conveyed to them ; for the misfor- 
tunes, magnanimity, patience, and piety of 
the king, had rendered him dear to his people, 
and all men united in detestation of those 
wicked hypocrites who had brought such a 
stain upon the nation. 

Fairfax had used his utmost interest to 
prevent the execution of the fatal sentence ; 
and had engaged his own regiment, if none 
else would follow him, to rescue the king from 
his disloyal murderers ; but Cromwell and 
Ireton, informed of his intention, went to him, 
and, under pretence of praying for direction 
from heaven, kept him engaged till the fatal 
blow was struck. 

Charles I. though not free from faults, was 
certainly a very virtuous character ; but he 
deserves the epithet rather of a good, than a 
great man. He was beheaded on the 30th 
of January, 1649, in the forty-ninth year of 
his age, and twenty-fourth of his reign. 

His person was of the middle size, and well 
proportioned ; his face was pleasing, notwith- 
standing it was clouded with melancholy ; the 
effect, we may suppose, of such successive 
calamities. 

The dissolution of the monarchy soon fol- 



240 LINE OF STUART. 

lowed the death of the monarch : the House 
of Lords was voted by the Commons use- 
less and dangerous ; and they ordered a new 
great seal to be engraved, on which that as- 
sembly was represented with this inscription : 
On the first year of freedom., by God's bles- 
sing, restored, 164S. The forms of all 
public business were changed, from the king's 
name to that of the keepers of the liberties 
of England ; and it was declared high trea- 
son to proclaim king, or any otherwise ac- 
knowledge, Charles Stuart, commonly called 
prince of Wales. 

The commons intended, it is said, to bind 
the princess Elizabeth apprentice to a button- 
maker; the duke of Gloucester was to be taught 
some mechanical employment : but the for- 
mer soon died of grief, as is supposed, for her 
father's tragical end ; the latter was, by Crom- 
well, sent beyond sea. 

Several noblemen, who were attached to 
the king, were executed soon after him ; the 
earl of Norwich and Sir John Owen were 
condemned but pardoned. 



N.B. Sir-names of the kings of England. — From Wil- 
liam I. to Henry II. it is very uncertain whether they had 
any Sir-name : but that king brought in the French Sir- 
name of Plantagenet, which continued to all the succeed- 
ing kings, till Henry VII. who brought in the Welch name 
of Tudor, and that lasted till James VI. of Scotland, who 
brought in the Scotch name of Stuart, which was afterwards 
changed into the Sir-name of Nassau, by William III. 



241 



TABLE XXXV. 

FAMILY OF CHARLES I. 

WIFE. 

HENRIETTA-MARIA, daughter of Henry IV. of 
France. 



1. CHARLES, afterwards king. 

2. JAMES, Duke of York, afterwards king. 

3. HENRY, Duke of Gloucester. 

DAUGHTERS. 

: * 

1. MARY, marriecLto the Prince of Orange. 

2. ELIZABETH, who died young. 

3. HENRIETTA, married to the Duke of Orleans. 



21 



LINE OF STUART. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
AD. 

1625 A plague in London destroyed 35,417 of its people. 

1626 The king raised money by sale of the crown lands, 

loans, and ship-money. 
162S Dr. Lamb murdered in the streets of London. 
The city fined for Dr. Lamb's death, £6,000. 
1135 Thomas Parr, reported to be aged 152 years, died 

November 15. 

1640 The fatal Long Parliament, began Nov. 3. 
An act to abolish the Star-chamber. 

1641 The princess Mary married to William of Nassau, 

prince of Orange, at Whitehall. 
The earl of Strafford attainted, May 8. 

executed May 12. 

A bill passed for pressing soldiers. 

1642 Edge-Hill fight: the number of the slain amounted 

to above 5,000, whereof two thirds were conceiv- 
ed to be of those of the parliament party, and a 
third part of the king's. 

1644 York relieved by prince Rupert, after which happen- 

ed the fight on Marston-Moor, ii\ which action about 
7,000 were slain, and 3,0D0* of the king's party 
taken prisoners, with all thty'rbaggag-e. 

1645 The fatal battle of Naseby, inftpiich 600 private sol- 

diers were killed on the king's side, and 4,500 
were taken prisoners : 3,000 horse, &c. 

Montrose defeated the Scotch army at Ketsith, near 
Glasgow in Scotland. 

Cromwell made lieutenant general. 

1646 The whole order of archbishops and bishops abolish- 

ed, October 9. 
1646-7 Charles delivered up by the Scotch to the English 

for the consideration of £400,000. January 30. 
1648-9 The king sentenced to be beheaded as a tyrant, 

traitor, murderer, and public enemy. 



OLIVER CROMWELL. 



243 



A. D 




1649. 



LESSON XL VI. 



The Commonwealth. 

After the king's death, the parliament 
proceeded to settle the government. They 
forbade all persons, on pain of high treason, 
to acknowledge Charles Stuart, commonly- 
called prince of Wales, as sovereign of Eng- 
land. They also voted, that no more ad- 
dresses should be made to the house of lords ; 
they abolished that house, and the kingly 
power, as useless; and decreed that the 
nation should be governed as a Republic. 
Cromwell's ambition led him to seek for un- 
bounded authority. He was soon appointed 
to command the army in Ireland, against the 
marquis of Ormond, the lord lieuteuant, who 
headed the royalists, and had engaged many 
of the native Irish to espouse the king's cause, 
under the conduct of Owen O'Neal. Crom- 



244 THE COMMONWEALTH. 

well's army proved victorious, and he pursu- 
ed his conquests with great barbarity. 

Ormond finding his affairs so desperate, 
that they would admit of no remedy, left the 
island; and about 40,000 of the Irish passed 
into foreign service. 

Charles, the eldest son of the late mon- 
arch, was at the Hague, when Sir James 
Douglas brought him intelligence that he 
was proclaimed king by the Scottish parlia- 
ment. The hard conditions annexed to the 
proclamation damped his joy ; and he hesi- 
tated for some time before he trusted him- 
self among his Scottish subjects ; but at 
length he received an account of the fate of 
Montrose, a nobleman of uncommon bravery 
and merit, who, at the head of an army of 
royalists, had unfortunately fallen into the 
hands of the Puritans, by whom he was put 
to death in the most ignominious manner. 
This determined the king to comply with 
the desires of the Scottish parliament ; and 
he sailed from Holland, escorted by seven 
Dutch ships. Before he was permitted to 
land, he was required to submit to terms of 
the most humiliating kind : and he was after- 
wards treated with the greatest indignity; 
he was consulted in no public measure, he 
was not called to assist at any councils, and 
his favour was sufficient to keep any one 
back from preferment. 

As soon as the English parliament found, 
that the treaty between the king and the 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 245 

Scots was likely to end in an accommoda- 
tion, they prepared for war. Cromwell was 
sent for from Ireland, and he left Ireton to 
command in his stead. 

Fairfax having resigned his commission 
in disgust, Cromwell was declared captain- 
general of England. He immediately march- 
ed with an army of 16,000 men to Scotland, 
where, after some difficulties, he obtained a 
great victory. 

The defeat of the Scots was regarded by 
the king as a fortunate event for him, as the 
vanquished were obliged to give him more 
authority ; but he was still little better than 
a prisoner. 

As soon as the season would admit, hostil- 
ities were renewed between the Scotch 
and English. Charles was at the head of the 
Scotch army ; and after a little while, 
Cromwell gained a very advantageous post; 
on which Charles resolved to march into 
England, and persuaded his generals to ac- 
company him with an army of 14,000 men. 
Cromwell pursued him : and the king, being 
disappointed in his expectations of increas- 
ing his army, arrived at Worcester, greatly 
harrassed and fatigued. Cromwell arrived 
soon after, with a superior force; the king 
was obliged to fly ; and the whole Scottish 
army was either killed or taken prisoners, 

About fifty or sixty persons escaped with 
the king; but he found it expedient to sepa- 
*1* 



246 THE COMMONWEALTH. 

rate from them, and entrusted himself to the 
care of a farmer, at Boscobel, on the borders 
of Staffordshire. This man,and his four broth- 
ers, though a great reward was offered for 
taking the king, maintained unshaken fidelity. 
They clothed him in a garb like their own, 
*led him into the neighbouring wood, put a 
bill in his hand, and pretended to be cutting 
faggots. Some nights he lay upon straw in 
the house ; and once, to conceal himself, he 
mounted an oak, where he remained twenty- 
four hours. He saw several soldiers pass 
by, all intent upon seizing him, as he found 
by the wishes they expressed in his hearing. 
This tree was afterwards called the Royal 
Oak. 

After this, Charles endured incredible 
fatigues, and had many narrow escapes. 
Once he rode towards Bristol in the disguise 
of a servant, before Mrs. Lane, the wife of a 
zealous royalist ; he was afterwards received 
by colonel Windham, and other friends: but 
was obliged to move from place to place 
very frequently, to prevent discovery : at 
last a vessel was found at Shoreham, in Sus- 
sex, in which he embarked, and, after forty 
days' concealment, arrived safely at Fes- 
champ, in Normandy. 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 247 



LESSON XLVII. 

Oliver Cromwell Protector. — End of the Com- 
monwealth. 

After Cromwell's return to England, the 
parliament gained entire authority over all 
the British dominions : an act was passed 
for abolishing royalty in Scotland, and an- 
nexing that kingdom, as a conquered prov- 
ince, to England ; and general Monk, who 
had been left in commnnd there by Crom- 
well, contrived, by his prudence, to com- 
plete the subjection of the Scots. Ludlow 
and Ireton subdued Ireland. All the settle- 
dements in America, that had declared for 
the king, were obliged to yield, and Jersey, 
Guernsey, Scilly, and the Isle of Mann were 
easily brought into subjection. 

The parliament then sent a fleet against 
the Dutch, under the command of admiral 
Blake, a most valiant officer. The Dutch 
employed against him the famous admiral 
Tromp: many engagements took place, in 
which the losses of the Dutch were very 
great, and they made overtures for peace j 
but the parliament did not seem inclined to 
listen to them. 

Cromwell plainly perceived, by the pro- 
ceedings of the parliament, that they were 



248 THE COMMONWEALTH. 

jealous of his power and ambition, and were 
resolved to bring him into subordination to 
them. This he determined to prevent, for 
which purpose he summoned a general 
council of officers, most of them dependents 
upon him. In this council it was voted to 
frame a remonstrance to parliament in fa- 
vour of the army. The parliament took of- 
fence at this remonstrance, on which a 
quarrel took place between the army and 
the commonwealth. A short time after, 
Cromwell, in a rage, went to the house at- 
tended by 300 soldiers, some of whom he 
placed at the door of the lobby, and some 
on the stairs, and after listening a little 
while to the debates, which were not to his 
mind, he stamped with his foot, as a signal 
for his soldiers to enter, and said to the 
members, u For shame ! get you gone ; 
give place to honester men, who will more 
faithfully discharge their trust. You are no 
longer a parliament, I tell you." — He then 
commanded a soldier to seize the mace. 
" What shall we do with this bauble ?" said 
he. " Here, take it away. It is you," 
said he, addressing himself to the house, 
" who have forced me upon this." — Having 
commanded the soldiers to clear the hall, he 
ordered the doors to be locked, and departed 
to his lodgings in Whitehall. 

Cromwell then chose a parliament for 
himself, consisting chiefly of ignorant, low- 
bred citizens, who pretended to great sane- 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 349 

tity. One of them, a leather-seller, who 
was called Praise-god Barebone, gave name 
to this assembly, which was called Bare- 
bone^ parliament. In a few months, this 
parliament, by a formal deed, gave up their 
supreme authority into the hands of Crom- 
well, and the officers of the army took upon 
them to declare him Protector of the com- 
monwealth of England; he pretended to 
accept this dignity merely that he might ex- 
ert the duty of a constable, and preserve 
peace in the nation. 

During these disturbances at home, the 
honour of the nation was kept up in foreign 
parts by the fleet and the army, the Dutch 
admiral in a sea engagement with Monk lost 
his life, and peace was concluded with Hol- 
land. Cardinal Mazarine, by whom the af- 
fairs of France were conducted, sought the 
friendship of the protector, and by the bra- 
very of Blake he humbled the power of Spain. 

When Cromwell had borne the title of 
Protector some time, it was proposed to give 
him that of king; but after a great deal of 
perplexity and doubt, he thought proper to 
decline it. On this refusal, the parliament 
found themselves obliged to retain the name 
of a commonwealth and protector. They 
gave Cromwell the power of nominating a 
successor, and assigned him a perpetual rev- 
enue for the pay of the fleet and army ; 
and he had authority to nominate a house 
of peers. 



250 THE COMMONWEALTH. 

Notwithstanding these successes, Crom- 
well's government was detested by the whole 
nation, and his own family held his pro- 
ceedings in abhorrence : his favourite daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Claypole, on her death-bed, up- 
braided him with all those crimes that led 
him to trample upon the throne : fresh con- 
spiracies against him were continually dis- 
covered, and his mind was a stranger to 
peace : he could not stir without the fear of 
being assassinated. In order to guard him- 
self, he wore armour under his clothes, and 
carried several weapons about with him. 
He would not sleep three nights together in 
the same chamber, and he was never easy, 
either in society or solitude. His body, 
from the anxiety of his mind, sensibly de- 
clined. He was seized with a slow fever, 
which turned to a tertian-ague. When he 
found he was in danger of dying, he ex- 
pressed great fears for his soul; but six fa- 
natical preachers, who surrounded him, flat- 
tered him into a persuasion, that the Lord 
had heard their prayers, and would restore 
him : the physicians were at last obliged to 
break silence, and declare that he could not 
survive another fit. The council sent a de- 
putation immediately to get him to name his 
successor; but his senses were too far gone 
to admit of his doing it any otherwise than 
by replying Yes, when he was asked wheth- 
er he meant that his son Richard should 
succeed him. Soon after, on the third o 



THE COMMONWEALTH. 251 

September 1658, in the fifty-ninth year of 
his age, and ninth of his usurpation, he ex- 
pired. He was of a robust frame of 
bod}', of a manly, though not an agreeable 
aspect. 

This usurper left only two sons, Richard 
and Henry, and three daughters, one mar- 
ried to general Fleetwood, another to lord 
Fauconberg, and a third to lord Rich. 

The council acknowledged the succession 
of Richard. His brother Henry governed 
Ireland in such a manner as to secure the 
obedience of that kingdom. General Monk, 
whose authority was well established in Scot- 
land, being much attached to the family of 
Cromwell, immediately proclaimed the new 
protector there, the army and the fleet every 
where acknowledged his title; the most con- 
siderable counties and corporations congrat- 
ulated him upon his succession, foreign 
ministers were forward in paying him the 
usual compliments; and Richard, though of 
a moderate and unambitious character, 
was tempted to aceept of the rich inherit- 
ance he would otherwise have relinquished. 
But it was not long before, on account of 
the violent proceedings in parliament, and 
the cabals that were formed against him, 
Richard gave up the protectorship, and re- 
tired to a private station. Henry, the deputy 
for Ireland, also very quietly resigned his 
command and retired to England. Rich- 
ard continued to possess the paternal estate, 



262 THE COMMONWEALTH. 

and lived in peace to a good old age : he 
did not die till the latter end of queen 
Anne's reign. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1649 Oliver Cromwell made lord lieutenant of Ireland, 

August 13. 

1650 The marquis of Montrose defeated in Scotland, taken 

prisoner, sentenced, and barbarously murdered. 

1651 Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland, July 22. 
Charles II. defeated at Worcester by Oliver, Sep- 
tember 3. 

1653 Oliver chosen protector of England, December 16. 
The Rump parliament turned out by the army, that 
had set twelve years six months and thirteen days. 
Scotland and Ireland united in one commonwealth 

with England, April 12. 
Jamaica taken by the English. 

1655 Cromwell dissolved the parliament. 

1656 Oliver would not suffer the French king to call him- 

self the king of France. 
1656-7 A plot to destroy Oliver discovered. 

1657 Doctor William Harvey, the first discoverer of the 

circulation of the blood, died Jan. 5. 

1659 The House of Commons shut up, and entrance de- 

nied its members. 
The Rump sat again, May 7. 
The Rump parliament turned out again by Lambert, 

October 18. 
The Rump parliament re-admitted, December 26. 

1660 Oliver Cromwell's corpse hung at Tyburn, Dec. 2. 
The Long parliament dissolved, and another called, 

to be holden at Westminster, April 25, 1660. 



CHARLES IL 



253 



A, D. 




1060 



LESSON XLVIII. 



Restoration of the Monarchy. 

After Richard's dismission, the officers 
restored what remained of the old parlia- 
ment that had beheaded the king, and which 
Oliver Cromwell turned out of the house. 
It was called the Rump parliament. But 
their proceedings gave great disgust to the 
officers, who came to a resolution to dissolve 
the parliament; and one of the generals, 
named Lambert, drew up his troops in the 
streets of Westminster, and when Lenthal, 
the Speaker, was proceeding in his coach to 
the parliament-house, he ordered the horses 
to be turned, and very civilly conducted him 
home. The other members were intercepted 
in like manner, and thought it most prudent 
to retire to their respective houses. 



254 LINE OF STUART. 

While these things were transacting, gen- 
eral Monk, who was in Scotland, .formed a 
design of restoring the king, who had written 
to him. But Monk was very secret in the 
business; he would not trust even his own 
brother. But he marched up to London, 
having first written, to order that the troops 
in the metropolis should be removed to coun- 
try quarters : this was complied with, and 
Monk soon after arrived with his army, and 
took up his quarters in Westminster. 

The general was introduced to the House 
of Commons, and thanks were given him by 
the speaker, for the eminent services he had 
done for his country : he took this opportu- 
nity of advising a dissolution of parliament ; 
but still kept his own intentions secret. 

A short time after he wrote a letter to the 
house, requiring them, in the name of the 
citizens, soldiers, and whole commonwealth, 
to issue writs within a week, and fix the time 
for dissolving themselves, and assembling a 
new parliament. As soon as intelligence of 
this happy measure was communicated, all 
parties were filled with joy at the prospect 
of peace, concord, liberty and justice being 
restored, and they vowed never more to 
gratify false and factious tyrants, by their 
divisions. 

When every thing was disposed to favour 
the king's restoration, Monk allowed Sir 
John Grenville to deliver a message to him 
from the king, and opened to him his inten- 



JAMES II. 255 

tions : but he still scrupled to commit any 
thing to writing, and sent only a verbal mes- 
sage to the king, assuring him of his services, 
and exhorting him to leave the Spanish do- 
minions and retire into Holland. Charles 
followed these directions, and narrowly es- 
caped to Breda, and then to Holland. 

When the new parliament met, though 
they were all desirous of the king's return, 
none of them ventured to express their 
wishes: for some days Monk was reserved 
as usutd ; but having sufficiently sounded 
their inclinations, he gave directions to An- 
nesley, president of the council, to inform 
them that Sir John Grenville, a servant of 
the king's, was at the door with a letter from 
his majesty to the commons. This intelli- 
gence was received with transports of joy. 
Grenville was called in, and the letter, ac- 
companied with a declaration, eagerly read. 
Without one moment's delay, a committee 
was appointed to prepare an answer, and 
both letter and declaration were published, 
to the great joy of the people. 

The lords hastened to take their share in 
the settlement of the nation, and found the 
doors of their house open. 

The two houses attended while the king 
was proclaimed with great solemnity in the 
Palace-yard, at Whitehall, and at Temple- 
bar. 

The respect of foreign powers soon fol- 
lowed the submission of the king's subjects. 



256 LINE OF STUART. 

When the king disembarked at Dover, he 
was met by the general, whom he cordially 
embraced. He entered London- on the 
twenty-ninth of May, which was also his 
birth-day. Wherever he passed, crowds of 
people lined the way, and rent the air with 
acclamations. 

Thus did the brave general Monk, in the 
space of a few months, without the effusion 
of blood, by his cautious and disinterested 
conduct alone, bring about the settlement of 
three kingdoms, which had long been torn 
with the most dangerous convulsions. 



LESSON XLIX. 
The Reign of Charles ll. 

When Charles the Second came to the 
throne, his engaging manners filled the na- 
tion with the most sanguine hopes, and from 
the whole tenor of his actions and discourse, 
he seemed desirous of losing the memory of 
past animosities, and of uniting every party 
in an affection for their prince and native 
country. 

He made a happy choice of ministers, 
who supported eaeh other's credit, and pur- 
sued the interests of the public. 

General Monk was created duke of Albe- 



CHARLES II. 257 

marie, and ever treated by the king with 
great marks of distinction. 

The melancholy austerity of the fanatics 
fell into discredit in the kingdom, and un- 
bounded gaiety took place of it. 

A proclamation was issued, that such of 
the late king's judges as did not yield them- 
selves prisoners within fourteen days, should 
receive no pardon. Nineteen surrendered 
themselves, some were taken in their flight, 
others escaped beyond sea. An act of in- 
demnity was passed, which secured the lives 
and fortunes of all who had not an immediate 
hand in the king's death. Cromwell, Ireton, 
and Bradshaw, and others now dead, were 
attainted, and their estates forfeited. Ten 
persons only were condemned to death, the 
rest of the king's judges were reprieved, and 
dispersed into different prisons. About this 
time died the duke of Gloucester, brother to 
the king, a young prince of most promising 
hopes. He was only twenty years'old when 
he caught the small-pox, which proved fatal. 
The princess of Orange, one of the daugh- 
ters of Charles I. who came over to England, 
was soon after taken ill and died. Princess 
Henrietta, another of that king's daughters, 
was married to the duke of Orleans, brother 
to the French king. 

After a recess of near two months the 
parliament met, and proceeded to settle the 
nation : the king left his ministers to act for 

22* 



268 LINE OF STUART. 

him, his chief care was to have money to 
indulge himself in pleasures and indolence. 

Lord Clarendon, who was chancellor and 
prime minister, behaved with great wisdom 
and integrity. 

The bishops were restored to their sees ; 
all the ejected clergy recovered their liv- 
ings, and the liturgy was admitted into the 
churches* 

In proportion as the king found himself 
established on the thronej he began to slight 
Clarendon, whose character was so differ- 
ent from his own; and he was ungratefully 
neglectful of the unfortunate cavaliers, who 
had suffered so much in the royal cause. A 
few of them, indeed, had handsome pen- 
sions; but the greater part of the royalists 
continued in poverty and distress, while the 
companions of Charles's mirth and pleasures 
gained, from his easy temper, every request 
they made. 

A Dutch war was resolved on, which was 
carried on for some years with great loss on 
both sides: during which, the plague broke 
out in London, in the month of October, 
1665, and carried off, in one year, 90,000 
inhabitants. The king was obliged to sum- 
mon a parliament at Oxford. The next 
year, on the 3d of September, another 
dreadful calamity happened in London: a 
rlre broke out at a baker's shop, near Lon- 
don bridge and spread with such rapidity, 
for three days and three nights, that 400 



CHARLES It. £59 

streets, containing 13,000 houses, were re- 
duced to ashes. 

The city was rebuilt in a short time after 
upon a better plan, the streets wider and 
more regular than before, and with better 
materials. Since that time, the plague has 
scarcely ever made its appearance in Eng- 
land. 

Great blame being thrown upon lord Clar- 
endon, on account of a treaty of peace con- 
cluded with the Dutch, the king made this a 
pretence for dismissing that upright minister, 
whose enemies, being bent on his utter ruin, 
brought an impeachment against him for 
treasonable practices; and though it appear- 
ed both false and frivolous, he was banished, 
and retired to France. 

After the removal of Clarendon, the king 
gave the conduct of his affairs to a set of 
men who formed a most dangerous ministry* 
They were five in number, Sir Thomas 
Clifford, lord Ashley, afterwards lord Shafts- 
bury, the duke of Buckingham, lord Arling- 
ton, and the duke of Lauderdale. These 
men were known by the appellation of the 
Cabal, a word which the initial letters of 
their names happened to compose: they 
were noted for their pernicious counsels, and 
involved the king and nation in difficulties 
which raised great jealousies and discontents 
among the people. Their pretence was to 
establish the king's authority; but it was 
obvious that they had a design to make him 



260 LINE OF STUART. 

absolute; and there is great reason to think 
Charles himself was bent upon restoring the 
Romish religion. 

The king saw, with regret, the violent 
discontents which prevailed in the nation, 
and which every day seemed to increase, 
and sought for expedients to ease the mur- 
murs ; and, as a likety mean to please his 
people, he proposed a marriage between the 
prince of Orange and the princess Mary, 
eldest daughter of the duke of York, which 
was soon after completed. Princess JVIary 
was heir apparent to the crown, as the king 
had no children, and the duke of York no 
son. She had been educated in the protes- 
tant religion. 

For a considerable time there was a con- 
test between the king and the parliament for 
power, and the kingdom was divided into 
two parties, the Court party, and the Coun- 
try party ; the former were called Tories, 
the latter Whigs. 

The Commons took great pains to exclude 
the duke of York from the succession, in 
hopes of bringing in the duke of Mon- 
mouth; they also attempted to introduce 
some other bills which the king disapproved ; 
the two houses of lords and commons disa- 
greed, and the king dissolved the parliament, 
and from this time exercised arbitrary power. 

A secret conspiracy was formed by the 
duke of Monmouth, and some other noble- 
men, with a view to raise a civil war \. but 



CHARLES II. 261 

the conspiracy was discovered to the king, 
who took measures which prevented its be- 
ing brought into effect, The king endeav- 
oured, by every art in his power, to increase 
his popularity, and knowing that the sus* 
picion of popery was, of all others the most 
dangerous, he judged it proper to marry his 
neice, the lady Anne, to prince George, 
brother to the king of Denmark. 

Soon after this, the king was seized with a 
sudden fit, which resembled an apoplexy; he 
languished a few days, and then expired, 
Feb. 6, 1635, in the fifty-fifth year of his 
age, and twenty-fifth of his reign. He had 
such a vevy good constitution, that every 
body was struck with surprise at his death, 
and it was greatly lamented. Before he 
died, he received the sacrament according 
to the rites of the church of Rome. 

This king was remarkable for a manly 
figure, a fine shape, and graceful air; his 
countenance, though not handsome, was 
lively and engaging. He was a most pleas- 
ing companion, and extremely well -bred. 
He was an obliging husband, a friendly 
brother, an indulgent father, and a good- 
natured master; but unsteady in his friend- 
ships. As a sovereign, though not altogether 
destitute of virtue, he was, on the whole, 
dangerous to his people and dishonourable 
to himself. 



262 



TABLE XXXVI. 

FAMILY OF CHARLES II. 

WIFE. 

HENRIETTA, Infanta of Portugal. 

Charles had no legitimate children. 



CHARLES II. 263 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1661 The body of the noble Marquiss of Montrose taken 

up, and interred in great state. 

1662 152 slaves redeemed from Algiers. 

1663 Laird Warreston executed at Edinburgh, according 

to a sentence in parliament, on a gibbet twenty- 
two feet high. 

1665 90,000 people destroyed by the plague in London. 

1666 Great fire in London, September 2, when 13,200 

dwelling-houses were destroyed. 
The Dutch and English fleets fight for four days, nei- 
ther party having the advantage. They engage 
again, and the English obtain the victory. 
1669 Death of the poet Sir John Denham. 
1671 The exchequer shut for want of money. 

Blood attempted to steal the crown from the Tower. 
1674 ,King Charles received from France a pension of 
£100,000 per annum. 
Milton, the poet, and the earl of Clarendon died. 
1676 Carolina planted by English merchants. 

1678 Statue at Charing-Cross erected. 

1679 The meal-tub plot. 

1683 The charter of London taken away by Charles. 
The Rye-house plot. 

Lord Russel beheaded on a charge of high treason. 
Algernon Sidney beheaded, for writing a libel never 
published, November 21. 

1684 The Buccaniers of America, about 100 in number, 

with the assistance of some Indians, went into the 

South seas, and made a bold attack on the 

Spaniards. 
Bombay in the East-Indies, was surrendered to Sir 

Thomas Grantham, for the use of the East-India 

company. 
A proclamation against foreign playing-cards. 



264 



LINE OF STUART. 



A. D. 




1685. 



LESSON L. 



The Reign of James II 

This prince, who was duke of York, and 
brother to the last monarch, began his reign 
with professions of his resolution to main? 
tain the established government, both in 
church and state ; he knew, he said, that 
the laws of England were sufficient to make 
him as great a monarch as he could wish, 
and he was determined never to depart from 
them. And as he had heretofore ventured 
his life in defence of the nation, he would 
still go as far as any man in maintaining all 
its just rights and privileges. 

This discourse was received with great 
applanse by the whole nation. We have 
now, it was said, the word of a king, and a 
word never yet broken. Addresses came 
from all quarters, full of dutiful expressions^ 



JAMES II. 365 

and every one hastened to pay court to the 
new monarch. 

The king, however, soon gave reason to 
think that he was not sincere in his profes- 
sions, for he acted with arbitrary power. 
He also went openly to mass, with all the 
ensigns of his dignity; and sent Caryl as 
his agent to Rome, to make submission to 
the pope, and prepare the way for the re- 
admission of England into the bosom of the 
Catholic church ; but, notwithstanding the 
king's prejudices, all the chief offices of the 
crown continued in the hands of the Protes* 
tants. On all occasions, however, the king 
was open in declaring, that men must now 
look for a more active and vigilant govern- 
ment : and that he would retain no ministers 
who would not pay an unreserved obedience 
to his commands. The queen, who had 
great influence, was a woman of spirit, but 
much governed by priests, especially by 
Jesuits. 

However averse James and his queen 
mijjht be to an English parliament, he was 
obliged to call one in the beginning of his 
reign ; but the speech he addressed to them 
was more likely to make them fear than 
love him. He demanded of them a settled 
revenue for life, and threw out threats of 
exerting his prerogative, in case of a refusal. 
The matter was strongly debated, but was 
concluded to his wishes. 
83 



266 LINE OF STUART. 

During the sitting of parliament, the duke 
of Monmouth made an invasion upon Eng- 
land, with about 2,000 horse and foot; but 
he was defeated at Feversham by the king's 
army, and soon after executed, to the great 
grief of the people, with whom he was a 
very great favourite. 

Shocking cruelties were exercised after 
the battle of Feversham, by colonel Kirk, 
who seemed to make a sport of death. He 
caused numbers to be hanged without any 
trial, and encouraged his soldiers, whom he 
called his lambs, to commit all kinds of out- 
rages. Judge Jeffries was equally cruel; 
many innocent people were put to death ; 
and others reduced to beggary, by heavy 
fines inflicted on them. 

James was very severe against the Protes- 
tant clergy; and permitted the Jesuits to 
erect colleges in different parts of the king- 
dom ; and they preached and propagated 
their religion publicly. Amongst other ar- 
bitrary acts, he caused the archbishop of 
Canterbury, and six bishops to be imprison- 
ed for defending the rights of the Protestant 
church. This enraged the people to the 
greatest degree. The reverend prelates 
were, however, brought to trial, and were 
acquitted, to the great joy of the nation ; 
but the king still determined to pursue his 
own plans. 

A few days before the acquittal of the 
bishops, a prince of Wales was born, who 



JAMES II. 267 

was baptized by the name of James : this 
event occasioned great joy, not only to the 
king and queen, but to all zealous Catholics, 
both at home and abroad. 

William, prince of Orange, who had mar- 
ried the princess Mary, the king's eldest 
daughter, had made it a maxim to concern 
himself very little in English affairs, and 
never, by any measure, to disgust any of the 
factions, or to give umbrage to the prince on 
the throne: this prudent conduct secured 
him a powerful interest in the kingdom; and 
when the king's arbitrary proceedings had 
estranged the hearts of his subjects from 
him, they turned their thoughts towards 
William ; and many of the most considera- 
ble persons in the kingdom made secret ap- 
plications to hirn, through his envoy, Zuleys- 
tein, who was sent to congratulate the king 
on the birth of his son, and carried back to 
the prince invitations from most of the great 
men in England, to assist them by his arms 
in the recovery of their laws and liberties. 

The prince of Orange was easily prevail- 
ed on to yield to the desires of the English, 
not doubting that, in the end, he should es- 
tablish himself upon the throne. 

The king having intimation of this, did 
not at first believe it; but he made an exper- 
iment to see how the army stood affected 
towards him. He ordered one of the bat- 
talions to be drawn up before him ; and their 
commander, major Litchfield, told them, that 



268 LINE OF STUART*. 

they were required either to enter into his 
majesty's views or to lay down their arms ; 
on which, to the great mortification of James, 
the whole battalion, excepting two captains 
and a few popish soldiers, immediately laid 
down their arms. For some time he stood 
speechless : but having recovered from his 
astonishment, he commanded them to take 
up their arms, adding, with a sullen, discon- 
tented air, that for the future he should not 
do them the honour to apply for their appro- 
bation. 



LESSON LI. 

James II. abdicates the CroiOn. 

Before the king could resolve what step 
to take, he received certain intelligence that 
the prince of Orange would invade him: he 
was astonished at the news; he grew pale; 
the letter dropped from his hand, and he 
perceived the danger of his situation. 

He now, by the advice of his ministers, 
suddenly changed his measures : he paid 
court to the Dutch, restored the charters of 
London and all the corporations, and even 
caressed those bishops whom he had so 
lately insulted ; but they gave him no com- 
fort 5 it was evident that he was actuated by 



JAMES II. 269 

fear, for he showed his attachment to his 
former principles, by appointing the pope to 
be one of the young prince's god-fathers. 

A declaration from the prince of Orange 
was dispersed all over the kingdom, setting 
forth the numerous grievances of the nation, 
and signifying that, in order to redress them, 
the prince intended io come over with an 
armed force to protect the king from evil 
councellors, &c. 

In three days he collected a fleet and 
army, and set sail from Helvoet-Sluice, with 
a fleet of nearly 500 vessels, and an army 
of 14,000 men ; and he landed them safely 
in Torbay, the 5th of November. 

Very few English ventured to join him 
at first ; but, soon after, lord Colchester, with 
a few of his troops deserted to him, and their 
example was followed by others ; among the 
rest, by lord Churchill, who owed all his 
fortune to James, but who could not justify 
the king's proceedings, so foreign to the 
welfare of the nation. 

There remained now none in whom he 
could confide ; and in the distraction of his 
mind. James resolved to draw off his army 
and retire towards London; this betrayed 
his fears, and provoked farther desertions. — 
Lord Churchill persuaded prince George of 
Denmark, the young duke of Ormond, and 
others, to take part with the prince of Or- 
ange, and they deserted from the king in the 



270 tlNE OF STUART. 

night: the princess Anne also withdrew her- 
self. On the first intelligence of thes-e pro- 
ceedings, James burst into tears ; " God help 
tne!" cried he, in the extremity of his 
agony, "my own children have -forsake^ 
me!" 

The king was now exposed to the cori*- 
tempt of his enemies; and his behaviour 
was not such as could gain him the esteem 
of his friends; he appeared as much de- 
pressed with adversity, as he had before 
been elated with prosperity. He even hear- 
kened to imprudent counsel, which prompted 
him to desert the throne. Accordingly, 
having first sent away the queen, he got 
safely to Calais, he soon after disappeared 
in the night, attended only by Sir Edward 
Hales ; but as he was making his way in 
d-isguise to a ship, he was taken and brought 
back by the mob; the gentry interposed 
and rescued him from insult; and the popu- 
lace, moved with compassion, received him 
in London with shouts and acclamations. 

Soon after his arrival at Whitehall, James 
received a message from the prince, to leave 
liis palace and retire to Ham; but, at his 
request, he was permitted to go to Roches- 
ter ; from whence he privately embarked on 
"board a frigate, which waited for him, and 
arrived safely at Ambleteuse, in Picardy ; 
from whence he hastened to St. Germains, 
where Lewis 3 the French king, received him 



JAMES II. 271 

Hvith the highest generosity, sympathy, and 
Regard, 

, Thus ended the reign of a prince who 
fiad many good qualities ; but they were 
Swallowed up in bigotry and arbitrary prin- 
ciples. In domestic life his conduct was 
irreproachable. 

The king having abdicated the crown, it 
^became necessary to appoint a successor, 
and, after a long debate in both houses of 
parliament, it was agreed that the prince 
and princess of Orange should reign jointly 
as king and queen ; but that the sole admin- 
istration should remain in the prince. To 
the settlement of the crown was added a 
declaration of rights, where all points which 
had been disputed between the king and peo- 
ple were finally determined, and the powers of 
royal prerogative were exactly defined, and 
circumscribed within narrower bounds. 

The commerce and riches of England 
never increased so fast in any period, as 
from the restoration of Charles II. to the 
revolution in favour of the prince of Orange. 

The fleet, at the revolution, consisted of 
173 vessels, of all sizes, and required 42,000 
seamen to man it. James II, when duke of 
York, invented sea-signals. 

The increase of coinage, during the two 

last reigns, was £10,600,000, and there was 

besides, a great increase of rich clothes, 

.jewels, plate, and coaches. 

- In 1650, £500 was thought as good a pOr° 



273 JAMES II. 

tion for a daughter, as £2,000 in 1688 ; and 
in these early times, English ladies wore 
serge gowns. 

The duke of Buckingham introduced, 
from "Venice, the manufacture of glass and 
crystal. 

The first law for erecting turnpikes was 
passed in 1662: the places of the turnpikes 
were Wadesmill, Caxton, and Stilton. 



TABLE XXXVII. 
FAMILY OF JAMES II. 

WIVES. 

1. ANNE HYDE, daughter to the Earl of Clarendon, 

2. MARIA JOSEPHA, of Modena. 



JAMES ; afterwards called the Chevalier de St. George, 
and the Pretender. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. MARY, married to the Prince of Orange: afterwards 

Queen. 

2. ANNE, married to the Prince of Denmark : afterwards 

Queen. 






LINE OF STUART. 273 



CHRONOLOGY, 
A. D. 

1685 Duke of Monmouth proclaimed king at Taunton 
Dean, defeated at Sedgcmore, taken and be- 
headed. 

1685 Justice Jeffries and general Kirk exercise great 

cruelties on the adherents of Monmouth. 

1686 The Newtonian philosophy published. 

Kirk, at Taunton, while at dinner with his officers, 
ordered thirty condemned persons to be hanged 
namely, ten in a health to the king, ten to the 
queen, and ten to Jeffries : but one action the 
most cruel, was, a young girl throwing herself at 
his feet to beg her father's life, he made her pros- 
titute herself to him, with a promise of granting 
her request j but having satisfied his lustful de- 
sire, was so inhuman as out of the window to 
show the poor unfortunate girl her father hanging 
on a sign-post : the spectacle so affected her, that 
she went distracted. 

The king encamped 15,000 men on Hounslow heath. 
1688 Seven bishops committed to the Tower for not coun- 
tenancing popery. 
1688-9 The city of London lent the prince of Orange £20,000 
January 10. 

The parliament declared James's abdication. 

James escorted to Rochester by a Dutch guard, and 
sailed to France. 

James landed in Ireland with an army. 

assembled a parliament in Ireland. 

Brass money coined by James in Ireland. 
1690 The battle of the Boyne in Ireland, where James 
was finally defeated by William, and obliged to 
embark for France, July 1. 
1692 James's descent on England frustrated the destruc- 
tion of the French fleet, May 19. 



274 



TABLE XXXVIII. 
THE LINE OF ORANGE. 

WILLIAM III. with MARY. 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 



275 



A. D. 




1690. 



LESSON LII. 



'William III. and Mary. 

Though William was elected to the throne 
of England, Ireland maintained its allegiance 
to James, which encouraged the latter to go 
to that kingdom, where he was received 
with all possible tokens of loyalty and at- 
tachment. Tyrconnel, the lord lieutenant, 
was devoted to his interests; his old army 
was steady, and a new one raised, amounting 
to near 40,000. 

With this army, James laid siege to Lon- 
donderry, which made a brave resistance, 
and the besiegers were obliged to return, 
after losing about 9,000 men. 

In a short time after this, the armies of 
James and William came within sight of 
each other; but the River Boyne was be- 
tween them ; however, the water was suffi- 



276 LINE OF ORANGE. 

ciently shallow, at that place, to admit of 
men wading over on foot. 

As William, at the head of the Protestant 
army, was riding along the river's bank, he 
received a wound in the shoulder from a 
cannon-ball, and several of his followers 
were killed. 

At six o'clock the next morning he gave 
orders to cross the river in three different 
places ; a furious battle was fought, in which 
the English were victorious. William brave- 
ly led on the horse in person; but James 
stood at a distance upon a hill, and viewed 
the battle, and was frequently heard to cry, 
out, " O spare my English subjects." 

Soon after, another battle was fought at 
Aghrim, which was very furious on both 
sides ; but at length the Irish capitulated ; 
and it was agreed that the Catholics should 
freely exercise their religion; and that all 
persons who chose it might remove, with 
their families and effects, to any other coun- 
try, except England and Scotland; and, 
accordingly, about 14.600 of those who 
fought for James went over to France. 

James also went to that kingdom, where 
he was supported partly bj' the liberality of 
Lewis, and partly by occasional supplies 
from his daughter and friends. He lived 
about seven years at St. Germains, and then 
died, on the 16th of September, 1700, after 
a lingering illness. He was renowned 
among the Roman Catholics for his humility 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 277 

and piety, for he submitted to severe penan- 
ces and mortifications. 

Before he died, James exhorted his son 
to have more regard for religion than for 
any worldly advantages. At his particular 
request, he was buried privately in the 
church of the English Benedictines at Paris. 

William, when settled on the throne, en- 
deavoured, at first, to preserve as much as 
was left of the royal prerogative; but the 
parliament maintained their ground so firm- 
ly, that he was obliged to submit to their 
decisions ; in return, they gratified his darling 
wish, by furnishing him with supplies to 
enable him to carry on wars, with a view to 
preserving the balance of power in Europe. 

Queen Mary unfortunately caught the 
small-pox, and died, in the thirty-third year 
of her age, and sixth of her reign, to the 
inexpressible grief of the king. 

Mary was tall and well-proportioned, had 
agreeable features, with a countenance which 
expressed at once mildness and dignity ; she 
had a good understanding, an even temper, 
and great piety ; but was thought to be defi- 
cient in natural affection towards her father 
and her sister; her highest ambition seems 
to have been to show herself a zealous Pro- 
testant, and an obedient wife. On her death- 
bed she refused to see the princess Anne ; 
but sent her a forgiving message. After the 
queen's death, an apparent reconciliation 
24 



278 LINE OF ORANGE. 

took place between the king and the princess, 
and he allowed her the palace of St* James 
for her residence : but there were great 
jealousies and disgust under these exteriors 
of friendship and esteem. 

While the king was engaged in these 
fruitless and expensive wars, the parliament 
employed themselves in establishing a num- 
ber of important acts, some of which were 
not very pleasing to the king; others were 
expressive of great affection to his person 
and government : but towards the latter end 
of his reign, there were frequent misunder- 
standings and discontent between them. 

On the 29th of July, 1700, died, of a ma- 
lignant fever, the young duke of Gloucester, 
the only surviving child of the princess 
Anne. His death was much lamented by 
the greater part of the English nation, not 
only on account of his promising talents and 
amiable temper, but as it left the succession 
to the throne undetermined, which was likely 
to create great disturbances in the kingdom. 
The Jacobites, that is, the adherents to 
king James, openly exulted at an event 
which they imagined would secure the inter- 
est of James's son ; but the Protestants in 
general turned their thoughts towards the 
princess Sophia, electress-dowager of Hano- 
ver, and grand-daughter of James I. The 
present state of affairs in England, however, 
bore a very unpromising aspect-, the king's 
health, and even his faculties, visibly de- 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 279 

clined : this made the Commons very solici- 
tous to settle the succession in case of his 
death; and having deliberated upon the 
subject, they resolved that none but a Protes- 
tant of the church of England should come 
to the possession of the crown, and that the 
princess Sophia, electress-dowager of Hano- 
ver, should be declared the next successor 
to the crown of England, in the Protestant 
line, after his majesty, and the princess, and 
their immediate heirs. 

Though some articles in the act of suc- 
cession were very mortifying to him, the 
king gave his consent to it. 

The king of France having acknowledg- 
ed the son of James as king of England, 
Scotland, and Ireland, William was. very 
urgent with the Commons to resent the af- 
front, and the whole nation seemed to join in 
the cry for war with France. 

The king's health now declined very fast ; 
but he endeavoured to conceal his illness, 
and to repair his health by exercise. 

On the 21st of February, as he was riding 
from Hampton-Court to Kensington, his horse 
fell under him, and he himself was thrown 
to the ground with such violence as to break 
his collar-bone. He seemed however, to 
be in a fair way of recovery till the 1st of 
March, when his knee appeared to be in- 
flamed : on the 4th of March he was seized 
with a shivering and other bad symptoms, 
and on the 8th of the same month expired. 



280 LINE OF ORANGE. 

William III. was, in his person, of a mid- 
dle stature, thin, and of a delicate constitu* 
tion, subject to an asthma and continual 
cough from his infancy ; he had an aquiline 
nose, sparkling eyes and*-a large forehead. 
He was certainly a great warrior, but not a 
pleasing companion. He was religious, tem- 
pearate, generally just and sincere; but his 
boundless ambition made him inattentive to 
many duties. 



TABLE XXXIX. 
FAMILY OF WILLIAM III. 

WIFE. 

PRINCESS MARY, daughter of King James IX 
William had no children. 



A.D. 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 281 



CHRONOLOGY, 



WILLIAM AND MARY. 



1688 Bill of right 

Every hearth or chimney paid two shillings per 
annum. 

King William and queen Mary crowned at Westmin- 
ster, April 11. 

An act passed to disarm papists, May 11. 

The Hanover succession first proposed, May 31. 

1691 William HI. took his seat as Stadtholder in Holland. 
The queen issues out her royal proclamation for the 

more reverend observing the Sabbath day, and 
against profane cursing and swearing. 

A terrible battle between the Imperialists and Turks, 
near Salenkemen, in the principality of Sclavo- 
nia : in which the Imperialists had about 7,000 
killed and wounded, and a great many good offi- 
cers 5 but the Turks lost 18,000 men, and almost 
all their officers killed, wounded, or taken 
prisoners. 

The philosophical Robert Boyle died, Jan. 7. 

Five captains of admiral Benbow's squadron in the 
West-Indies, were tried on board the Breda, at 
Port Royal, in Jamaica, for cowardice and breach 
of orders, in an engagement with Ducasse. 

The Irish defeated at the battle of Aghrim, in Ire- 
land. 

1692 The French fleet destroyed at La Hogue and other 

places by admiral Russell. 
A terrible earthquake in the island of Jamaica in 
the West-Indies, which almost entirely ruined the 
town of Port-Royal, the best of all the English 
plantations. 
24* 



282 LINE OF ORANGE. 

1692 37 cities, towns, and large villages, and about 130,000 
people destroyed in the kingdom of Naples, by an 
earthquake, February 11. 
The massacre of Glencoe, in Scotland. 

1698 The English fleet defeated by Tourville. 

1694 Queen Mary died of the|g^|^||^ 
The bank of England incorporated. 

WILLIAM III. 

1694-5 Discipline of the church restored. 

Commissioners appointed to direct the building and 
endowment of Greenwich hospital. 

1695 Duties imposed on births, marriages, burials, bache- 

lors, and widowers. 
1695-6 Guineas went at the rate of thirty shillings. 

Six-pence per month deducted out of every seaman's 
wages, for the support of Greenwich hospital. 

1696 Czar of Muscovy, Peter the Great, came into Eng- 

land, and remained incognito. 
The window tax first levied. 

1700 The New-Style introduced by the Dutch and Protes- 
tants in Germany. 

1700-1 Earl John, of Marlborough, appointed general of the 
foot, June 1, and commander-in-chief of his ma- 
jesty's forces in Holland. 
King James II. died of a lethargy at St. Germain's 
in France, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, 
September 6. 

1702 King William died at Kensington in the fifty-second 
year of hk age, and the fourteenth of his reign, 
March 8. 

1702 Captain Kirby and Captain Wade were condemned 
to die, and being sent to England, were shot on 
board a ship at Plymouth, not being suffered to 
go on shore. Admiral Benbow, who had his leg 
shattered with great shot in the engagement with 
Ducasse, died of his wounds soon after he had 
*he captains condemned. 



MARY. 



283 



A. D. 




1702. 



Lesson i 



The Rdg% of Queen Anne. 

This princess was the consort of George 
prince of Denmark, and the second daugh- 
ter of king James II. ; she ascended the 
throne in the thirty-eighth year of her age, 
to the general satisfaction of all parties, 
Anne had experienced great vicissitudes of 
fortune, and numberless mortifications during 
the late reign; but had borne them with aa 
equal mind, and conducted herself with 
great prudence* 

On the 11th of March the queen went ra 
state to the house of Lords, where, in a 
speech to both houses, she expressed her 
satisfaction at their unanimous opinion, that 
too much could not be done for the encour- 
agement of their allies in humbling the 
power of France ; and desired they would 



234 LINE OF STUART. 

consider of proper methods towards obtain- 
ing an union between England and Scot- 
land, &c. &c. " And as I know my own 
heart to be entirely English," said she, " I 
can very sincerely assure you, that there is 
not any thing which you can expect or de- 
sire from me which 1 shall not be ready to 
do for the happiness and prosperity of Eng- 
land, and you shall always find me a strict 
observer of nry word." 

Addresses of congratulation were present- 
ed to the queen from all parts ; and she re- 
ceived them with such affability as insured 
her the affection of her subjects. 

In a short time war was proclaimed with 
France, not only by the English, but by the 
Germans and the Dutch. 

George, prince of Denmark, the queen's 
husband, was invested with the title of gen- 
eralissimo of all the queen's forces, both by 
sea and land, and afterwards created lord 
high admiral. 

The conduct of the war was entrusted to 
the earl of Marlborough, late lord Churchill, 
who went over to Holland, where he was 
made, at the desire of the Dutch, generallis- 
simo of the combined army. He was a 
man of uncommon abilities, both for debate 
and action, and the, most formidable enemy 
to France that England had produced for 
many years. This nobleman was very 
highly in the queen's favour, and, within 
two years after she came to the throne, he 



ANNE. " "285 

was rewarded for his valour with a duke- 
dom and a pension of £5,000 per annum. 
The duchess of Marlborough was the queen's 
intimate friend. 

During the reign of queen Anne, a num- 
ber of battles were fought upon the conti- 
nent, in which the duke of Marlborough 
gained great renown, and raised the glory of 
the British arms to the highest pitch. 

In the 3 T ear 1704, the brave admiral, Sir 
George Rooke, accompanied by Sir CIou- 
desley Shovel, made an attack upon Gibral- 
tar, which at that time belonged to the 
Spaniards. After a short resistance, the 
governor capitulated, and the prince of Hes- 
se, who, with some land forces, was on board 
Rooke's squadron, marched into the place. 
This proved a very important conquest in 
the end ; but, through the envy and malice 
of the admiral's enemies, it was undervalued 
at the time, and, instead of being rewarded, 
the admiral was neglected, and soon dis- 
placed from his command, and Sir Cloudes- 
ley Shovel declared rear-admiral of England. 

The queen was very solicitous for the 
union of England and Scotland into one 
kingdom, and the matter was repeatedly and 
warmly debated in the parliaments of both 
nations ; at length a treaty was drawn up, 
by which it was stipulated, that the succes- 
sion of the united kingdom should be vested 
in the house of Hanover; that England and 
Scotland should be represented by one and 



286 LINE OF STUART. 

the same parliament, to which Scotland 
should send sixteen peers and forty-five 
commoners ; that all the subjects of Great 
Britain should have the same public laws 
and privileges, &c. &:c. 

This tseaty was at first violently opposed 
by the Tories in England, and by many of 
the Scotch ; but every article of it was, af- 
ter all, approved by a majority in both par- 
liaments, and a law passed for uniting the 
two kingdoms. This act of union took 
place May 1, 1707; which was observed as 
a day of public thanksgiving. On the 23d 
of October, in the same year, the first Brit- 
tish parliament assembled at Westminster. 
The kingdom of France at this period was 
reduced to the verge of destruction by 
successive defeats, which had drained it of 
people and treasure ; and nothing could 
have saved it, but the jealousy and miscon- 
duct of the allies, who lost a battle at Al- 
manza, and failed in an expedition against 
Toulon. The fleet under the command of 
Sir Cloudesley Shovel was shipwrecked on 
the coast of Scilly, the admiral drowned, 
and many others with him ; and the duke of 
Marlborough made an inactive campaign, 
owing to the retreat of the enemy from one 
post to another, which prevented his coming 
to an engagement with them. 

During the duke's absence, the queen's 
private favour shifted to new objects, and 
his duchess was supplanted by Mrs. Mash- 



ANNE. 287 



am, her own relation, whom she had intro- 
duced. This lady was, in politics, the asso- 
ciate of Mr. Harley, who was at that time 
speaker of the House of Commons, and one 
of the principal secretaries of state; his aim 
was to expel the Whigs from the advantages 
they possessed under government, and to 
destroy the credit of the duke of Marl- 
borough and the earl of Godolphin, who was 
the treasurer. Mr. Harley's chief coadju- 
tors in this scheme was Henry St. John, 
afterwards lord Bolingbroke, and Sir Simon 
Harcourt. The times were favourable to 
this project, for the people were tired of the 
Whig ministry, whom they had formerly 
applauded. 

The Duke of Marlborough and the earl 
of Godolphin, being apprised of the secret 
practices against them, wrote to the queen, 
that they could serve her majesty no longer, 
if Mr. Harley was continued in his post of 
secretary. The queen, finding herself in 
danger of being abandoned by her minis- 
isters, told the duke, Mr. Harley should im- 
mediately resign his office, which he didj 
and it was conferred on Mr. Henry Boyle ; 
but she entirely withdrew her confidence 
from the earl of Godolphin. Mr. Harley's 
coadjutors resigned with him. 



LINE OF STUART. 



LESSON LIV. 
The Reign of Queen Anne, continued. 

The generality of the Scottish nation, and 
also the Tories in England, exclaimed loudly 
against the union, and the Jacobites were 
again in motion ; they held conferences 
among themselves, and maintained a corres- 
pondence with the court at St. Germains, 
and in a short time England was alarmed 
with the apprehensions of an invasion. The 
Pretender, who had assumed the title of the 
Chevalier de St. George, was furnished by 
France with an armament, in order to go 
over to Scotland ; and the pope contributed 
to the expence of the expedition : but it 
proved fruitless, for the Pretender was inter- 
cepted by Sir George Ityng, and returned 
to Dunkirk, after his fleet had been tossed 
about a whole month in very tempestuous 
weather. 

All the noblemen and gentlemen in Scot- 
lend, suspected of an attachment to the Pre- 
tender, were apprehended, and confined in 
the castle at Edinburgh, or brought up to 
London and committed to the Tower, or to 
Newgate; but in a short time they were ad- 
mitted to bail, and afterwards pardoned by 
an act of grace. 
On the 28th of October, 1708, died, after 



ANNE. 289 

a lingering illness, prince George of Den- 
mark : his death was greatly lamented by 
the queen ; for the utmost harmony subsisted 
between them. 

In 1710, the duke of Marlborough, dis- 
gusted with the queen's treatment of him, 
retired to Windsor, and great alterations were 
made in. the ministry, so that there was not one 
Whig left in it. The brave general, who but 
a few months before had received the thanks 
of both houses and who was the idol of the 
people, was now hated by the parliament, and 
insulted by the populace. Mr. Harley was 
appointed to some lucrative posts under gov- 
ernment, and sworn again into the privy coun- 
cil, in the year 171] : he was made a peer 
of Great Britain, by the title of earl of Oxford, 
and shortly after he was made lord high 
treasurer ; but the duke of Marlborough still 
kept the command of the allied army ; and, 
with his usual courage and prudence, perform- 
ed great exploits. 

But while negociations for peace were car- 
rying on between the court of France and 
the new ministers, the duke of Marlborough 
was dismissed from all his employments. 
At length, in the month of January, 1712, 
the conferences for peace began at Utrecht ; 
but the allies, actuated by avarice, jealousy, 
and ambition, perplexed the queen's measures, 
and obstructed her designs, and she entered 

25 



C90 LINE OF STUART. 

into a private treaty with France, unknown to 
the English plenipotentiaries at Utrecht. 

In the mean time the duke of Ormond, who 
now was invested with the supreme command 
of the British forces, received particular or- 
ders not to act against the enemy ; but prince 
Eugene, and the deputies for the allies, urged 
him to disregard these orders, which made 
his situation very uncomfortable, and he ex- 
pressed a desire to return ; but soon after a 
fresh order w T as sent to him to concur/ with 
the allies in besieging the town of Quesnoy. 

These proceedings occasioned warm de- 
bates at home, and brought on a separation 
of the allies from the English ; at the end of 
the campaign the duke returned to England, 
where the party disputes were become more 
violent than ever, and London was filled with 
riot and uproar. 

The duke of Marlborough hearing himself 
accused as the author of these party mischiefs, 
retired to the continent, and was followed by 
his duchess. His friend lord Godolphin died 
a little while before. 



LESSON LV. 

The Reign of Queen Anne, continued. 

On the 5th of May, 1713, peace was pro- 
claimed, tothe inexpressible joy of the nation 
in general; but tranquillity was not restored 



ANNE, 391 

at home : there were such dissensions among 
her majesty's ministers, that the council-cham- 
ber was a scene of bitter dispute and alterca- 
tion, even in the queen's presence. In the 
midst of these disputes the Jacobites were 
not idle, they fiatttered themselves that the 
queen in secret favoured the pretensions of 
her brother, and that the same sentiments 
were cherished by the people in general ; and 
they proceeded so far as to enlist men for the 
service of the Pretender, on a presumption 
that the throne would soon be vacant : for 
the queen's constitution was quite broke, and 
her health declined very visibly. On the 
twenty-seventh of July, lady Masham, the 
Chancellor, and lord Oxford, had a great 
quarrel in her majesty's presence ; and the 
latter resigned his staff of Lord High Treas- 
urer, into the queen's hands. His fall was 
so sudden that no plan was established for 
supplying his place. The fatigue of attending 
a long cabinet council on this event, had such 
an effect upon the queen, that she declared 
she should not outlive it, and was immediate- 
ly seized with a lethargic disorder, which 
evaded the skill of the physicians, and gained 
ground so fast, that on the thirtieth of July, 
her life was despaired of. 

In this emergency the privy eouncil unani- 
mously recommended lord Shrewsbury to fill 
the place of lord treasurer, who was entirely 
approved by the queen, and appointed to the 



292 



LINE OF STUART. 



office, and he was at once lord treasurer, lord 
chamberlain, and lord lieutenant of Ireland. 

Every precaution was taken for securing 
the peace of the kingdom, and defeating the 
designs of the Pretender, and the heralds at 
arms were kept in waiting, with a troop of 
horse-guards, to proclaim the new king, as 
soon as the throne should become vacant. 

The queen continued in a state of lethargic 
insensibility, with very few intervals, till the 
first of August in the morning, and then ex- 
pired, in the fiftieth year of her age, and the 
thirteenth of her reign. 

This queen was, in her person, of a middle 
size, well proportioned, her aspect was rather 
comely than majestic, her voice remarkably 
sweet, and her whole appearance very engag- 
ing. She was a pattern of domestic virtues, 
and a mild and merciful princess, during 
whose reign no subject's blood was shed for 
treason. She was zealously attached to the 
church of England, unaffectedly pious, just, 
charitable, and compassionate : she loved her 
people as if they had been her own children, 
and was universally beloved by them : in 
short, she was one of the best sovereigns that 
ever sat upon the throne of England, and 
well deserved the epithet of the good Queen 
Anne. 

She had only one son, William duke of 
Gloucester, who died at the age of eleven 
years. 



tot 



TABLE XL. 

SUCCESSOR TO QUEEN ANNE. 
GEORGE, Elector of Brunswick. 

Y 



£6* 



294 LINE OF STUART. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1703 The earl of Marlborough chosen captain general of 

queen Anne's army. 
A dreadful tempest in England. 
The old and new East-India companies united. 

1704 Gibraltar taken in three days, by admiral Rook. 
The death of Locke. 

The battle of Blenheim gained by the duke of 

Marlborough and prince Eugene. 
The French fleet defeated at Malaga, by the English. 

1705 The colours and standards taken at Blenheim, hung 

in Westminster Hall. 
The English take Barcelona from the Spanish. 

1706 The battle of Ramillies gained by Marlborough. 

The colours and standards hung at Guildhall. 

1707 England and Scotland united. 
Death of Farquhar, the poet. 

An interview between the duke of Marlborough and 

Charles XII. 
Sir Cloudesley Shovel shipwrecked on the rocks of 

Scilly. 

1708 The battle of Malplaquet gained by the duke of 

Marlborough and prince Eugene. 
The French defeated at Oudenarde by Marlborough 

and prince Eugene. 
The first parliament of Great Britain met April 24. 
Dr. Sacheverel impeached by the Commons for high 
crimes and misdemeanors. 
1709 Charles XII. defeated ty the Russians at Pultowa. 
1712 Robert Walpole committed to the Tower for bribery. 
Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell, died, 
aged ninety. 
1714 Mr. Steele expelled the house of Commons for wri- 
ting the Englishman and the Critic. 
£5,000 offered to apprehend the Pretender. 



296 



TABLE XLI. 

THE LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

GEORGE I 1714 

GEORGE II 1727 

GEORGE III 1760 

GEORGE IV.* 1820 



* The following' is the genealogy of the kings of England, 
from his present Majesty to William the Conqueror : — George 
the Fourth was the son of George the Third, who was the 
grandson of George the Second, who was the son of George 
the First, who was the cousin of Anne, who was the sister- 
in-law of William the Third, who was the son-in-law of 
James the Second, who was brother of Charles the Second, 
who was the son of Charles the First, who was the son of 
James the First, who was the cousin of Elizabeth, who was 
sister of Mary, who was the sister of Edward the Sixth, who 
was the son of Henry the Eighth, who was the son of Henry 
the Seventh, who was the cousin of Richard the Third, 
who was the uncle of Edward the Fifth, who was the son 
of Edward the Fourth, who was the cousin of Henry the 
Sixth, who was the son of Henry the Fifth, who was the son 
of Henry the Fourth, who was the cousin of Richard the 
Second, who was the grandson of Edward the Third, who 
was the son of Edward the Second, who was the son of 
Edward the First, who was the son of Henry the Third, 
who was the son of John, who was the brother of Richard 
the First, who was the son of Henry the Second, who was 
the cousin of Stephen, who was the cousin of Henry the 
First, who was the brother of William Rufus, who was the 
son ©f William ths Conqueror. 



*&« MffB OF BRUNSWIOK 




AI >- il Jmmf^T i i>i^ 



LESSON LVI. 

The Reign of George I. 

The princess Sophia, electress-dowager of 
Hanover, being dead, the succession to the 
throne, which had been settled on her, de- 
volved on her son George Lewis, elector of 
Hanover, as the next Protestant heir to the 
crown; therefore, immediately upon the 
death of queen Anne, orders were issued for 
proclaiming king George in England, Scot- 
land, and Ireland, and his title to the throne 
was admitted without the least opposition, 
tumult, or sign of popular discontent ; but 
shortly after his coronation, there were great 
commotions in different parts of the kingdom, 
owing to the unhappy division of the nation 
into the parties of Whigs and Tories. The 
king regarding the Whigs as friends to his 
succession, and the Tories as favourers of ths 



GEORGE I. 297 

Pretender, gave countenance to the former, 
and great changes were made in the ministry, 
and the royal household, from which the 
Tories were excluded. 

When the parliament met, a committee 
was appointed to inspect ail the papers rela- 
ting to the late negociation for peace, and to 
select such of them as might serve as subjects 
of accusation against the late ministry. 
Mr. Walpole, who was chairman of this com- 
mittee, moved, 'that a warrant might he issued 
for apprehending Mr. Matthew Prior and 
Mr. Thomas Harley, who were both commit- 
ted to the Tower ; lord Bolingbroke, the 
duke of Ormond, lord Oxford, and lord 
Strafford, were then impeached of high trea- 
son ; the two former not appearing, to surren- 
der themselves, (for they had left the king- 
dom,) were struck out of the list of peers, 
and their estates declared forfeited to the 
crown; on which they attached themselves 
to the Pretender's interest. Lord Oxford 
was committed to the Tower. 

A rebellion in favour of the Pretender, 
broke out first in Scotland, and afterwards in 
England ; but it was very unsuccessful. The 
earl of Mar, who had set up the standard of 
the Pretender in Scotland, was defeated by 
the duke of Argyle ; and the earl of Derwent- 
water and Mr. Foster, who took the field in 
England with a party of horse, and proclaim- 
ed the Pretender there, were overpowered 



298 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

by general Carpenter and general Willis, and 
obliged to lay down their arms. 

Notwithstanding these disasters, the Preten- 
der passing through France in disguise, em- 
barked at Dunkirk, and arrived in a few days 
on the coast of Scotland, with only six gen- 
tlemen in his train ; he was soon after pro- 
claimed king, and made his public entry at 
Dundee, and assumed royal state without the 
smallest degree of power. But having nei- 
ther money, arms, nor ammunition, he was 
soon under the necessity of relinquishing the 
enterprise, and sailed back to France. 

The rebellion being at an end, the king's 
ministry thought proper to punish the authors 
of it in the most rigorous manner. In conse- 
quence of which, lord Derwentwater and 
several other noblemen received sentence of 
death : some were executed immediately, 
and others respited. A number of other 
rebels of inferior rank were tried and con- 
demned, some of whom were hanged, drawn 
and quartered. About a thousand others 
were transported to North America. 

The earl of Oxford remained full two years 
in the Tower, he then petitioned the lords 
that his fate might be decided : a day of trial 
was appointed, and the commons were desired 
to prepare their charge against him. At the 
appointed time the lords assembled in the 
court at Wesininster-hall, where lord Cowper 
presided as Lord High Steward j but a dis- 



GEORGE I. 299 

pute arising between the lords and commons 
concerning the mode of trial, the lords voted 
that lord Oxford should be set at liberty ; but 
the commons presented an address to the 
king, requesting that he might be excepted 
from the intended act of grace ; and he was 
forbidden to appear at court. Soon after, an 
act of grace passed both houses, the earl of 
Oxford and many others were excluded from 
it ; but such noblemen and gentlemen as were 
under sentence of death, or imprisoned, on 
account of their concerns in the rebellion, 
were immediately discharged. 

In 1718, war* was declared against Spain, 
and the Pretender thought this a favourable 
opportunity to renew his attempt to obtain the 
crown of England. The duke of Ormond, 
who was fixed upon to conduct the expedi- 
tion, obtained from the king of Spain, a fleet 
of ten ships of war and transports, with 6,000 
troops, and arms for 12,000 more; but a 
violent storm frustrated the intended invasion, 
and the bad success of the Spanish arms in 
Sicily and other parts of Europe, induced the 
king of Spain to consent to terms required of 
him. • 

In 1720, a project was set on foot in Eng- 
land, which is now remembered by the name 
of the South-sea scheme, and numbers of 
people, under the idea of making a fortune, 
were ruined by it. 

In the year 1722, died the great duke of 



300 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

Marlborough. In the same year the king and 
nation were alarmed with the information of 
an intended conspiracy, and the bishop of 
Rochester, together with several noblemen 
and gentlemen, were committed to the Tower 
for high treason on suspicion of being con- 
cerned in it ; and shortly after, an act was 
passed to deprive the bishop of all his offices, 
benefices, and dignities, and banish him the 
realm, on pain of death if he returned ; the 
other imprisoned lords were admitted to bail, 
and lord Bolingbroke was pardoned. 

During his reign, the king went repeatedly 
to visit his German dominions, and, in the 
year 1727, he prepared for another journey 
to Hanover, and proceeded as far as a little 
town called Voet, where he was suddenly 
seized with a paralytic, disorder, which de- 
prived him of his speech ; and he became 
lethargic : but he was conveyed to Osnaburg, 
where he expired on Sunday, June 11, in 
the sixty-eighth year of his age, and the 
thirteenth of his reign. 

This monarch, before he ascended the throne, 
had acquired the character of a circumspect 
general, a just and merciful prince, and a wise 
politician. And it was his declared resolution 
to govern the people of England according 
to the maxims of the British constitution ; 
but, in a kingdom divided into such powerful 
factions, it was impossible for him to conduct 
himself to the satisfaction of all parties. 



301 



TABLE XLII. 

FAMILY OF GEORGE I. 

WIFE. 

SOPHIA-DOROTHY, daughter and Heiress of the Duke 
of Zell. 

SON. 

GEORGE, Prince of Wales, afterwards King. 



26 



302 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1714 George I. arrived at Greenwich from Hanover. 

1715 The Pretender proclaimed as James VIII. in Scot- 

land, by the earl of Mar, who assembles forces. 

1716 The tide forced back by a strong westerly wind for 

one day and night, and the Thames lay perfectly 
dr}' both above and below the bridge. 
A dreadful fire happened in Thames street, near 
Bear-key, by the imprudence of a boy who was 
making squibs and rockets, which consumed up- 
wards of 120 houses. 

1717 The Prince of Wales banished the court. 

1718 James She|>herd, a lad of eighteen, executed for con- 

spiring the king's death. 
Charles XII. of Sweden killed at the siege of Fred- 
erickshall. 

1719 The Pretender received at Madrid as king of Great 

Britain. 
The Mississippi scheme at its height in France. 
Death of Mr. Addison. 
The English and French invaded Spain by land, and 

took the towns of Fontarabia, St. Sebastian, and St. 

Antonio, and reduced the province of Gui Puocoa. 

1720 South-sea stock rose 400 per cent, and continued to 

rise until July, when it rose to 1,000 per cent. 

1721 Several persons ruined by the South-sea stock falling 

to 150 per cent. 
Several members of parliament expelled for being 

concerned in the South-sea bubble, and their es- 

states confiscated for the use of the sufferers. 
Death of Prior, the poet. 
1725 The lord chancellor (earl of Macclesfield) displaced, 

impeached, and fined £30,000 for corruption. 
Jonathan Wild, a notorious thief-taker, executed. 



GEORGE II. 303 




A.D. %\I \ 17 * 7 ' 



LESSON LVII. 
The Reign of George II. 

An express arriving on the fourteenth of 
June, with an account of the death of the 
late king, his son, prince George, was pro- 
claimed, and soon after crowned king : he as- 
cended the throne in the forty -fourth year of 
his age. 

In the beginning of December, 1728, his 
majesty's eldest son, prince Frederic, arrived 
in England from Hanover, where he had hith- 
erto resided, and was created prince of Wales. 

Early in the king's reign there was a pros- 
pect of war with Spain ; but matters were 
accommodated, and there was an interval of 
profound peace in Europe for some time. 
The contests of opposing parties, Whigs and 
Tories, still, however, continued in England, 
and debates were carried on with the usual 
animosities in parliament. 



304 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

In 1730, seven Cherokee chiefs arrived in 
England, and were introduced to the king, at 
whose feet they laid their crown and regalia, 
and, by an authentic deed, acknowledged 
themselves and their countrymen subjects of 
his dominions. They were quite astonished 
at the riches and magnificence of the British 
court: they compared the king and queen to 
the sun and moon, the princes and princesses 
to the stars, and themselves to nothing. They 
entered solemnly into a treaty of friendship 
and commerce, and, after receiving valuable 
presents, were conveyed back safely to their 
own country, which borders on the province 
£ of South Carolina. 

At this period, England was dreadfully in- 
fested with robbers and assassins. 

In 1737, died, in the fifty-seventh year of 
her age, queen Caroline, a princess universal- 
ly regretted on account of her many amiable 
qualities and excellent understanding. 

In the year 1739, war was declared against 
Spain, and shortly after two rich Spanish 
ships were taken in the Mediterranean. Ad- 
miral Vernon repeatedly declared in the house 
of commons, that he would undertake to get 
possession of Porto Bello, a fort and harbour 
in South America, with six ships only. This 
was treated for some time as an impracticable 
scheme ; but at length his request was com- 
plied with, and he actually attacked and de- 



GEORGE II. 305 



tnolished the place and came *«y victori- 
ous, with the loss of scarcely one man. 

In the ending year, preparations were made 
for carrying on the war with v.gour, and great 
°u r p hesU-e granted by P*—* ££f 
the expences of the navy and land forces. 
Sir John Norris sailed from Spithead with a 
powerful fleet, in hopes of incepting a 
strong squadron of Spanish ships destined for 
their American settlements; and the duke of 
Cumberland, the king's youngest son, served 
in person as a volunteer in this expedition , 
but they were prevented by adverse winds 
from putting their design in execution. 

After vexatious delays, a small squadron, 
commanded by commodore Anson, set sail 
for the South-sea, in order to act against the 
enemy on the coasts of Chili and Peru, and 
to co-operate occasionally with adm.ral Ver- 
non ; but the hopes of the nation were princi- 
pally fixed upon a formidable armament de- 
signed for the northern coast of New Spain, 
and other Spanish settlements in the West 
Indies Never was an armament more com- 
pletely equipped, and never had the nation a 
fairer prospect of extraordinary success. The 
fleet which consisted of twenty-seven ships 
of the line, besides a number of frigates, &c. 
amounting in all to 170 sail, was put under 
the convoy of Sir Chaloner Ogle, and the 
land forces were commanded by lord <--atn- 



26' 



306 "NB OF BRUNSWICK. 

cart. But the expectations of the public 
wc-e frustrated Sir Chaloner was detained 
a Spuhead t,H the season for action was 

T R 0yer: ,' lemetwith a ^le« tempest 
in the Bay of Biscay, which scattered and 
dispersed hi. fleet. Lord Cathcar died and 
many other untoward circumstances occurred 
Adm.ral Vernon, admiral Haddock, and st 
John Noms, were also sent out upon expedi- 
ions wh.ch turned to no account; a „d no 
less than 407 ships were taken by the Spani b 
privateers. ^pdui&n 

of Do P n FT/" 1 SqUadr0 "' U " der the C ~"d 
of Don P.zarro, was sent to intercept com- 
modore Anson ; but some of Pizarro's S Z S 
perished at sea, and he lost 12,000 men bv 
sickness and famine. y 

. The ill success of the British fleets Deca- 
yed great discontent in the nation, which 
was mcreased by the expenses incurred for 

u inK a War r° n ,he C ° ntinent > t0 »<*»- 
tain the balance of power in Europe, or to 

prevent any one kingdom from getting too 
great a proportion of power, so af to endan- 
ger any of the others. The king of England 
went m perfon t0 command ^ ^ g and 

« S e b».Tl ,th f X n mP ' ar7 ^^ P«"'eularly 
at the battle of Dettmgen, in which he gained 
a victory over the French army. S 



GEORGE II. 307 



LESSON LVIII. 
The Reign of George II continued. 

In the year 1743, England was threatened 
with an invasion. The continual dissensions 
in parliament, and the general discontent of 
the people of Great Britain, made the French 
ministry suppose that the nation was ripe for 
rebellion. The Pretender at this time resided 
at Rome ; but being himself too far advanced 
in years to engage in such an expedition, he 
agreed to delegate his pretensions and author- 
ity to his son Charles, a youth of promising 
talents, and inured to hardships. 

Count Saxe was appointed by the king of 
Frauce to command the troops designed for 
this expedition, amounting to 15,000, and the 
fleet, consisting of a grea. number of vessels, 
was under the convoy of M. de Roquefeuille. 
The young Pretender departed from Rome 
in the disguise of a Spanish courier. Eng- 
land was immediately put into a posture of de- 
fence, and Sir John Nonis ordered to Spit- 
head, to take the command of the squadron. 

M. Roquefeuille sailed up the channel as 
far as Dungeness, a promontory on the coast 
of Kent. Sir John Norris soon appeared in 
view, and the French admiral, not choosing to 
risk an engagement, thought proper to make 
the best of his way back again. The French 



308 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

generals returned to Paris, and the Pretender 
resolved to wait for a more favourable oppor- 
tunity ; but war was declared between France 
and England. 

In 1/44, Commodore Anson returned from 
his voyage of three years and nine months, 
in which time he sailed round the world, and 
brought home great riches ; shortly after he 
was made a peer. The history of his voyage 
is very entertaining and interesting. In the 
same year Sir John Balchen, an admiral of 
approved valour and grear experience, with 
many brave officers and men, were lost at sea 
in the ship Victory, which unfortunately 
foundered. 

In the following year the naval transactions 
of Great Britain were remarkably spirited. 
Admiral Rowley gained great advantages in 
the Mediterranean. Commodore Barnet, in 
the East Indies, made prizes of several French 
ships, richly laden. Commodore Townshend, 
in the latitude of Msrtinico, took about thirty 
merchantmen. Lcuisbourg, an important 
fortification in Noith America, belonging to" 
the French, was taken by commodore War- 
ren, which proved a very valuable acquisition 
to Great Britain. 

The young Pretender having been once 
animated with the nope of gaining the throne, 
was not disheartened by the failure of his 
first enterprise, but resolved to make a vigor- 
ous effort. He received assurances from the 



GEORGE II. 309 

Jacobites in Great Britain and Ireland, that 
numbers would crowd to his standard when 
called upon, and he had the promise of suc- 
cours from France. King George was at this 
time in Germany, and great part of the High- 
landers were keen for insurrection. 

The young Pretender, being furnished with 
money and arms, embarked the fourteenth of 
July, 1745, and, after encountering some 
difficulties, landed on the coast of Lochaber, 
in Scotland, where he was soon joined by a 
considerable number of Highlanders, under 
their respective chiefs, and in a short time the 
rebels became very formidable, and the chev- 
alier de St. George, the old Pretender, was 
proclaimed king, and his son was admitted 
into Edinburgh, where he took possession of 
the royal palace, as his father's regent ; but 
he missed his aim of seizing the treasure 
belonging to the two banks of Scotland. 

During these transactions the king returned 
from Germany, and every measure was taken 
to quell the rebellion : but the Pretender 
gained ground, and having taken Carlisle, he 
proceeded as far as the town of Derby. He 
had now advanced within one hundred miles 
of the capital, and the French thteatened an 
invasion. The kingdom was thrown into the 
utmost consternation, and the Jacobites were 
elevated with the hope of a speedy revolu- 
tion ; but the young Pretender soon found 
himself miserably disappointed : instead of 



810 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

increasing his forces as he advanced, very few 
Jacobites vnntured to join him ; the Highland 
chiefs began to murmur, and their clans to be 
unruly, and he was soon hemmed in, by two 
considerable armies in the depth of winter. 
After violent disputes among his adherents, it 
was determined that they should retreat to 
Scotland with all possible expedition, which 
they effected in a most surprising manner; 
in the mean while the duke of Cumberland, 
with a powerful army, invested Carlisle, which 
surrendered, and he took about 400 prison- 
ers, who were carried to different gaols in 
England, and the duke returned to London. 

The Pretender exacted contributions, rein- 
forced his army in Scotland, took several for- 
tresses, and obtained a victory over general 
Hawley, who commanded the king's forces. 
This officer, who had arrogantly boasted, that 
with two regiments of dragoons, he would 
drive the rebel army from one end of the 
kingdom to the other, shamefully fled before it. 

After this the duke of Cumberland assumed 
the command of the army in Scotland, and 
on the 26th of April, 1746, a decisive battle 
was fought between the rebels and the duke's 
army at Culloden, and a memorable victory 
obtained, with great slaughter on the side of 
the rebels. The earl of Kilmarnoc was taken 
prisoner, and in a few days lord Balmerino, 
surrendered himself. 

The Pretender forded the river Ness, and 



GEORGE II. 311 

retired with a few horse to Aird, where he 
conferred with old lord Lovat. He then dis- 
missed his followers, and wandered about, a 
wretched and solitary exile, among the isles 
and mountains for five months, during which 
time, he underwent such a series of hardships 
and misery, as scarcely any other person could 
have outlived. Thus, in one short hour, all 
his hopes vanished, and the rebellion was en- 
tirely extinguished. After a variety of es- 
capes, the young Pretender at length embark- 
ed on board a privateer, hired by his adhe- 
rents, and soon after arrived in France. 

The rebellion being quelled, it was resolved 
to make examples of those who had been 
concerned in disturbing the peace of their 
country. Numbers of .officers of the rebel 
army were executed, and the lords Kilmarnoc, 
Balmerino, and Lovat, were beheaded on 
Tower-hill, and their heads afterwards placed 
on Temple-bar. 

After this, England was free from invasion : 
but war was carried on for some time on the 
continent ; at length it was concluded by a 
treaty at Aix-la-Chapelle, which, though high- 
ly extolled at the time, proved very disadvan- 
tageous in the event to the British nation. 

This reign was remarkable for brave naval 
officers, who gained great victories over the 
French and Spaniards, which are fully related 
in histories of England, which you will here- 
after read. And great conquests were made 



312 UNE OF BRUNSWICK. 

under general Clive in the East Indies, and 
general Amherst and general Wolf in North 
America; the latter was unfortunately killed, 
just as he had completed the conquest of 
Quebec. 

The island of Minorca which was formerly 
taken from the Spaniards, being besieged by 
the French, admiral Byng was sent with ten 
ships of war to the relief of it ; but the 
garrison surrendered to the enemy, and Byng 
was afterwards tried by a court-martial for 
not doing his utmost, and condemned to be 
shot. The sentence was executed upon him ; 
but he was greatly pitied, as he had always 
borne the character of a brave commander. 

England afterwards engaged to send sup- 
plies of money and troops for carrying on the 
war in Germany, as an ally to the king of 
Prussia, and the English officers and troops 
gained great renown in the battle of Minden. 
In short, the nation was at a high pitch of 
glory, when the sovereign was seized with an 
apoplectic fit, and soon after expired, in the 
seventy-seventh year of his age, and thirty- 
third of his reign, to the great grief of his 
subjects ; and was succeeded on the throne 
by his eldest grand-son, George, prince of 
Wales. 



313 



TABLE XLIII. 

FAMILY OF GEORGE II. 

WIFE. 
CAROLINE, daughter to the Margrave of Anspach. 

SONS. 

1. FREDERICK, Prince of Wales, married to Princess 

Augusta, of Saxe-Gotha t he died before his father. 

2. WILLIAM, Duke of Cumberland. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. ANN, married to the Prince of Orange. 

2. AMELIA, who died unmarried. 

3. CAROLINE, died unmarried. 

4. MARY, married to the Landgrave of Hesse. 

5. LOUISA, married to the King of Denmark. 



37 



814 LINE OF BRUN8WIOK. 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A.D. 

1727 The Spaniards besiege Gibraltar. 

Sir Isaac Newton died, aged 85. 
1729 Deaths of Dr. S. Clarke, Sir Richard Steele, Con- 
greve the poet, and the noted John Law. 

1731 Deaths of Dr. Atterbury, and Defoe. 

1732 Death of Gay, the poet and fabulist. 
1737 A comet appeared. Death of Howe. 
1739 Admiral Vernon takes Porto Bello. 

1742 Sir Robert Walpole resigned, after holding his places 

twenty-one years. 

1743 King George defeated the French at Dettingen. 

1744 Admiral Anson returned with £1,500,000 which he 

had taken in the Acapulca ship. 
Deaths of Pope the poet, and Roger Gale. 
Prague taken by the king of Prussia. 

1745 The duke of Cumberland defeated at Fontenoy. 
Battle of Preston-Pans. Death of Dean Swift. 

1746 The rebels defeat the royal army at Falkirk. 

The Pretender totally defeated by the duke of Cum- 
berland at Culloden. 
Several lords and others executed for rebellion. 

1747 The French fleet defeated by admiral Hawke. 

1748 Death of Thomson, the poet. 
1752 The style altered. 

1755 General Braddock defeated. 

1767 Admiral Byng shot for cowardice. 

4758 100 French ships destroyed at St. Maloes, by the 

duke of Marlborough. 
1769 The French defeated at Minden. 

Quebec taken by general Wolfe. 

Boscawen defeats the. French off Gibraltar. 

Guadaloupe surrendered to the English. 
1760 Generally Lally defeated in the East Indies. 

Canada surrendered to the EDglisb. 



eEoRaE m. aia 



A. D. 




1760. 



LESSON LIX. 
Reign of George III. 

George the Third, son of Frederick, 
prince of Wales, and grandson to the late 
king, begun his reign with every demonstra- 
tion of joy from the people of England. He 
was in the bloom of youth, affable and en- 
gaging in his manners, and had many open- 
ing virtues, which gave promise of future 
good conduct. The two preceding monarchs 
were natives of Germany, and always look- 
ed upon as too favourable to that country ; 
it was therefore a subject of great satisfac- 
tion to the English, to have a prince seated 
on the throne who was born and brought up 
amongst them. 

One of the most popular acts upon the 
commencement of this reign, was the giving 
permanency to the Judges, and making them 
independent of the crown. The king's mar- 



316 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

riage likewise with the princess Charlotte of 
Mecklenburg was much approved, and took 
place, as did his coronation, in the course of 
the first year after his accession. 

Mr. Pill, afterwards earl of Chatham, con- 
tinued for some time at the head of affairs, 
and the same system of war was pursued 
that had prevailed in the latter part of the 
reign of the last king. Every thing went on 
prosperously under the direction of the great 
statesman already named, till a change of 
measures was thought necessary ; upon which 
Mr. Pitt resigned his office, and lord Bute 
was placed at the head of administration. 
The war was still carried on till the year 
1763, when peace between the contending 
parties was signed at Paris. But the articles 
not being agreeable to the generality of the 
English nation, great discontents were enter- 
tained ; lord Bute resigned his office, and a 
change of ministry again took place. 

About this time Mr. Wilkes, a man of a 
very turbulent character, disturbed the pub- 
lic mind. He published several political 
pamphlets, one of which was of so scandalous 
a nature that it was ordered to be burnt by 
the common hangman, which gave such of- 
fence to the people that they assembled in 
great numbers to prevent the execution of 
the sentence. By the spirit and conduct of 
the lord mayor and Sheriffs it was however 
effected, and Mr. Wilkes himself out-lawed 
and expelled the house of commons. 



GEORGE 1IL 317 

He went over to France, where he remain- 
ed some years, and having had time to reflect 
on his conduct, and the small advantage to 
be gained by such seditious proceedings, he 
returned in a quiet peaceable temper, and 
continued so the remainder of his life. 

A few years after this, the war with the 
United States of America unhappily brokeout, 
and after raging for many years, was atlength 
terminated by the loss of most of our posses- 
sions there. This war was supposed to have 
been occasioned in a great measure by the 
stamp act in England, by means of which 
the minister attempted to raise a considera- 
ble revenue from the American colonies, by 
laying a heavy tax upon them. The Amer- 
icans were unwilling to submit to this, and 
being secretly stirred up by the French, re- 
sisted the matter, and in the year 1775, broke 
out into open rebellion, renouncing all con- 
nection with Great Britain, and assuming 
the title of the United States of America. 

The war was carried on with various suc- 
cess on both sides till the year 1778, when 
the French openly joined the Americans, and 
sent a considerable fleet to sea, under the 
command of count D'Estaing. The follow- 
ing 3'ear Spain entered into an alliance with 
France, and the states of Holland likewise 
joined the common enemy against Great- 
Britain. The combined fleet of 60 sail of 
the line appeared off Plymouth ; and Admiral 
*7* 



18 LINE OF BRUNSWIOK. 

Hardy, who commanded the British force, 
not having a fleet sufficiently powerful to re- 
sist such an armament, retreated up the Chan- 
nel. The enemy were not however able to 
make any advantage of the superiority of 
their numbers, owing to the great sickness 
and mortality which prevailed amongst them, 
and were obliged to retire with only the 
capture of one English ship of 64 guns. 

The next year Admiral Rodney fell in with 
a fleet of merchantmen belonging to the ene- 
my, the whole of which he captured with the 
convoy which guarded them, and shortly after 
defeated the Spanish fleet of 1 Isail of the line, 
most of which were either taken or destroyed. 

In the year 1780, riots of a very alarming 
nature broke out in London, which were 
chiefly occasioned by lord George Gordon, 
and a few other fanatics, who fancied, or for 
the sake of making commotions pretended to 
believe, that the Protestant religion was in 
danger, because some slight indigencies 
had lately been shown to the Catholics. 
Several Roman Catholic chapels were burnt 
down, and upon some of the rioters being 
committed to Newgate, the mob proceeded to 
that prison, pulled it down, and set the pris- 
oners at liberty. No sooner was this effect- 
ed, than the mob, increased now by the fel- 
ons let loose from Newgate, proceeded to 
further outrages. The King's Bench, the 
Fleet prison, and the housesof lord Mansfield, 
Sir John Fielding, and likewise of many 



GEORGE III. 319 

Catholics were burnt down, and no less than 
36 conflagrations were observed at one time. 

Most of this mischief might have been pre- 
vented by timely exertion of the lord mayor 
and others of the magistracy, but at length the 
military were called forth by the command of 
his majesty, who evinced upon this occasion, 
as upon many others, a vigour of action and 
calm courage becoming the exalted station in 
which he stood at the head of the nation. 
Order was soon restored, and the people re- 
covered from the panic into which they had 
been thrown by a wild mob,instigated by a few 
turbulent spirits, and the cry of" No Popery." 

The affairs of America continued to go on 
unfavourably for England, till those who had 
the management of the war were convinced 
that nothing could be done towards retaining 
those colonies, and peace was proclaimed in 
the year 1 733 between the contending pow- 
ers, and the united provinces of America 
declared a free and independent state. 

Several changes of ministry had takerfplace 
towards the close of the American war, and 
upon the conclusion of it Mr. Pitt, son of the 
earl of Chatham, was called into the coun- 
cil, and accepted the office of chancellor of 
the exchequer. / 

This extraordinary young man, though 
only twenty-four years of age, had already 
distinguished himself by several very eloquent 
speeches in parliament. Great hopes were 
entertained ot his abilities, which hopes were 



820 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

realized during the course of many years, 
while he continued at the head of administra- 
tion. 

The year 1785 was marked by the' im- 
peachment of Warren Hastings, esq. late gov- 
ernor of Bengal. This trial, the longest that 
ever was known in any court of justice, last- 
ed more than seven }'ears, and was carried 
on in the house of Peers before both houses 
of parliament. The ground of the charge 
against him was for supposed exactions, and 
various errors in his government in India ; 
but after all that could be said by the most 
able orators of the times, none of the crimes 
alleged could be substantiated, and he was 
honourably acquitted by the lord chancellor, 
in the name of the house of Lords. Some 
good however seems to have arisen from this 
proceeding, as the affairs in India have since 
then been investigated with greater accuracy, 
and put upon a better footing. 

In the year 1736, the life of the king was 
exposed to the most imminent danger, by the 
fury of an insane person of the name of Mar- 
garet Nicholson. As his majesty was step- 
ping from his carriage at St. James's garden 
gate, she made a pass at his heart with a knife. 
The blow was happily avoided by his majes- 
ty's stepping back, but upon her making 
another thrust at him, her hand was seized by 
one of the guard, and the weapon taken from 
her. The king with his accustomed calmness 
and humanity exclaimed, " I am not hurt, 



GEORGE III. 321 

take care of the woman ; do not hurt her. 5 ' 
On examination she was proved to be insane, 
and was committed to custody as a lunatic. 

The next event of material importance, 
was, a bill brought into parliament for taking 
into consideration the manner of conducting 
the slave trade. Enquiries were according- 
ly entered into respecting it, and many hor- 
rible cruelties brought to light. For a long 
time the members of the house of Commons 
debated upon the exdediency of putting a 
stop to the trade altogether, and various 
opinions were entertained upon this subject; 
but after many years had elapsed since the 
subject was first discussed in parliament, 
humanity prevailed, and the traffic in human 
beings, so disgraceful to a nation professing 
Christianity, was abolished. 

In the autumn of 1788, very serious alarm 
was excited in the public mind by the indis- 
position of the king. For some time the 
nature of his illness was kept secret; but at 
length it was made known that a tem- 
porary privation of reason had taken place, 
and that his majesty was incapable of per- 
forming the functions of his high authority. 

The grief and consternation of the people 
was general, yet owing to the great exertions 
of the ministry, particularly of Mr. Pitt, no 
symptoms of disorder appeared in the gov- 
ernment of the kingdom, and for several 
months all went on nearly as usual. 

At the very moment when arrangements 



323 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

were made for establishing a Regency, his 
majesty began to recover, and in the course 
of a very short time was again able to re- 
sume the reins of government. 

Nothing could exceed the joy of the na- 
tion upon this occasion. The demonstrations 
of it in every part of the kingdom plainly 
evinced how dear he was to the hearts of 
the people, who looked up to him with a 
respect and affection almost filial. A general 
thanksgiving was appointed to be observed 
in all the churches, and his majesty went him- 
self publicly to St. Paul's cathedral to return 
thanks to the allwise Disposer of events for 
the signal mercy that had been shown him. 



LESSON LX. 

The Reign of George III. continued. 

Very different were the transactions car- 
ried on by a neighbouring nation at this 
period. For some time a set of wicked dis- 
affected people had projected a revolution in 
France, which in the autumn of 1789 began 
to break out in that kingdom. In the begin- 
ning of the revolution the king was allowed 
to have some show of power; but at length 
with his queen, his two children, and his 
sister, he was thrown into prison, where he 
was treated with every indignity that could 



GEORGE lit 823 

be devised, and after some months' imprison- 
ment was brought before his enemies to a 
sort of mock trial, was condemned, and led 
to public execution. This amiable and 
pious monarch met his fate with the firmness 
of a hero, and the meekness of a christian; 
and prayed for blessings upon that nation 
which had treated him with such unjust and 
wanton cruelty. 

Shortly after his royal consort was like- 
wise brought to trial, condemned, and execu- 
ted, with even greater marks of ignominy 
than had been shown to the unfortunate 
Louis. The virtuous princess Elizabeth, 
sister to the king, was next dragged to the 
scaffold, without even the form of a trial, and 
murdered without remorse. 

The fate of the dauphin, the heir to the 
throne, waseven more melancholy. Soon af- 
ter the death of his father, he was removed 
from the rest of his afflicted family and 
placed in the hands of wicked wretches, who 
took every pains to corrupt his mind and 
injure his health, and, in the year 1795, his 
death was announced (o the public. Whether 
he died a natural death by sickness occasion- 
ed by the filth and vermin of his prison, in 
which they were suffered to accumulate, or 
was taken off by slow poison, is not known. 
The young princess "was suffered to live, but 
languished several years in prison ; she Was 
however liberated after the decease of her 
brother and allowed to depart the kingdom. 



324 MNE OF BRUNSWICK. 

Nor did the cruelty of the nation termi- 
nate with vengeance on the royal family. 
The nobility, the clergy, people of all ranks, 
of all ages and conditions, felt it in a greater 
or less degree. Thousands were brought to 
the guillotine, without even the form of a 
trial; others were obliged to seek safety in 
flight: and nothing but blood and carnage, 
ruin and desolation, seemed to content the 
people. The nobility and clergy, in great 
numbers, took refuge in England, and found 
in this country that peace and comfort they 
could not meet with in their own. The En- 
glish nation, incensed at the wickedness of 
the French, had for Fome months meditated 
war. The death of Louis made them deter- 
mine no longer to delay it, and they took up 
arms soon after that event. 

The success on each side was inconsider- 
able, till on the 1st of June, 1794, the British 
fleet, under the command of lord Howe, 
obtained' a signal victory over the French, in 
which two ships were sunk, two burnt, and 
six brought into Portsmouth harbour. 

In the following year the English made 
an unsuccessful attempt to defend Holland 
from the inroads of the French ; but the 
revolutionary spirit had spread itself in that 
country, and British valour could effect little. 
The prince of Orange, the Stadtholder, was 
obliged to leave his dominions, and in an open 
boat, with his son, crossed over to England, 
where he found a safe retreat, and was hon- 



GEORGE III. 325 

ourably supported. The republic of Hol- 
land was added to the dominions of France, 
and after a time one of the brothers of 
Bonaparte placed at the head of affairs, 
under the title of king of Holland. 

In the early part of the French revolution, 
attempts were made in this kingdom, by 
certain disaffected persons, to kindle the 
spirit of rebellion, in the hope of bringing 
about a similar revolution ; but happily the 
sense of the nation was against it and the vig- 
orous measures pursued by government were 
successful in putting a stop to such proceedings. 

In the spring of 1797, much alarm was 
occasioned by the bank of England's stop- 
ping payment in specie, and the sailors mu- 
tinying on board the fleet lying at Spithead. 
The stopping of the bank proved to be only 
a wise measure to prevent its being drained 
of money, and so far from endangering the 
credit of the country, was a happy means of 
preserving it; and the insurrection on board 
the fleet, though of a more serious nature, 
was soon quelled by the prudence of those 
employed in the business. A few of the 
ringleaders were punished, the rest of the 
mutineers pardoned upon submission. 

Shortly after the alarm occasioned by these 
events had subsided, a glorious naval victory 
was obtained by Sir John Jervis, off Cape 
St. Vincent. This was followed by another 



26 



326 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

victory over the Dutch, at the mouth of the 
Texel, by lord Duncan. 

By the artifices of France, and the revolu- 
tionary spirit which was spread all over the 
continent, added to the successful arms of the 
French, England was left almost alone to 
contend with that power, and with several 
others now become its allies and adherents. 

Bonaparte, who first began his career in 
1795, and from an obscure station had risen 
to the command of the French army, having 
fought with great success in Italy and Germa- 
ny, turned his arms towards Egypt, and per- 
haps hoped to march on from thence, and to 
make himself emperor of the East. He'was 
however stopped in his design by the most 
glorious naval victory that had ever been ob- 
tained, under the command of the gallant 
Nelson, before the city of Aboukir, at the 
entrance of the Nile ; and soon after receiv- 
ed a check on land by the British arms at 
St. John d'Acre, under the command of Sir 
Sidney Smith. But though driven out of 
Egypt, he escaped to France, where by a 
stratagem greatly resembling that of Oliver 
Cromwell upon a similar occasion, he got 
himself placed at the head of the French 
government under the title of First Consul. 

In the beginning of the new century, Ire- 
land was united to this kingdom, as Scotland 
had been at the beginning of the preceding. 
The sessions of 1801, were accordingly 
opened in the name of the imperial parlia- 



GEORGE III. 327 

ment, consisting of the united kingdom of 
England, Ireland and Scotland. 

Towards the close of this year, Mr. Pitt 
resigned his place of chancellor of the ex- 
chequer, after having retained that office 
eighteen years: wearied out with the toils of 
administration he was glad to retire from 
the service of the public. 

England, however, still continued success- 
ful, and the threats of the tyrant of France 
to invade our shores proved vain. A great 
army had been assembled at Boulogne, 
waiting a favourable opportunity to cross 
the channel, and a powerful flotilla was con- 
structed to convey them; but, through the 
vigilance of the British navy, all these 
mighty preparations came to nought. 

About this time Paul, the emperor of Rus- 
sia, who had in various instances displayed 
a mosf capricious disposition, harboured a 
deep resentment against the English on sev- 
eral accounts ; particularly because they had 
obtained possession of Malta. He persuaded 
the other northern powers to join with him 
in a renewal of what was termed "the armed 
neutrality," which was no other than a com- 
bination against the commercial and naval 
power of this country. He laid an embargo 
on the British ships lying in his ports, taking 
out their masters and crews, and sending 
them into confinement in remote places in his 
empire. He was proceeding to further acts 
of oppression, when the English government 



328 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

which had received notice of his proceedings, 
sent out a fleet wider the command of Sir 
Hyde Parker and lord Nelson. To the great 
surprise of all the northern powers, they 
passed the Sound, entered the Baltic, seized 
several of the Danish fleet which had been 
prepared to defend the capital, and began to 
fire on the city of Copenhagen. After a smart 
engagement, an armistice was signed between 
England and Denmark, and afterwards be- 
tween that country and Sweden. The fleet 
was then about to proceed to Revel in order to 
seize upon the Russian ships in that port, 
when intelligence was received of the sudden 
death of the emperor Paul, and the favourable 
disposition of his son and successorAlexander. 
The ensuing year peace was signed between 
England and France. It did not however last 
quite a twelvemonth : the insolence of Bona- 
parte could not be borne,and the English were 
once more under the necessity of taking up 
arms. 

For some time after the recommencement 
of the war, the ships of the enemy kept 
within their ports, not daring to encounter the 
British fleet: but in the month of March, 
1805, a squadron ventured out from Toulon, 
and effected a junction with the Spanish fleet, 
after which they were overtaken and brought 
to an engagement near Cape Trafalgar, in 
Spain, and a most dreadful slaughter ensued. 
The French and Spaniards fought with the 
most undaunted courage and resolution ; 



GEORGE III. 329 

notwithstanding which they were complete- 
ly defeated, and almost every ship belonging 
to the combined fleets destroyed. 

This naval engagement, the most dreadful 
and destructive that had ever been known, 
was productive of one most sad affliction to 
the English ; the hero of the Nile, admiral 
Nelson, lost his life by a musket-ball as he 
was walking the quarter-deck. Notwith- 
standing the joy occasioned by this signal 
victory, the whole nation lamented over the 
man who had so often led our fleets to con- 
quest. A magnificent funeral was decreed 
at the public expense, and riches and hon- 
ours heaped upon the family of the deceased. 
From this'time no important naval engagement 
with any of the powers of Europe has taken 
place, and the sovereignty of the British 
navy has been universally acknowledged. 

In the interim, affairs on the continent went 
on but badly. Bonaparte, who had been 
declared emperor of France and king of Italy, 
was every where victorious by land, and 
obliged the emperors of Germany and of Rus- 
sia to make peace with him upon disadvanta- 
geous terms. Prussia also was humbled to 
the very dust, and scarce a foe, save England, 
dared contend with the successful tyrant. 

In the beginning of the year 1806, Eng- 
land sustained another severe loss in the 
death of Mr. Pitt, After the peace of 
Amiens, he had, by the special command of 

28" 






330 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

his majesty, been recalled to the service of 
the state; but his health gradually declined, 
and on the 24th of January he expired, in 
the 47th year of his age. His funevarhon- 
ours were performed at the expense of the 
public, and his death generally deplored. 

The following year was marked by a most 
heavy calamity; — our beloved sovereign, 
who had for some time been nearly deprived 
of sight, was seized with a return of the mal- 
ady with which he was first afflicted in 1788. 
For some time his recovery was expected, 
but not advancing as was hoped, a Regency 
was appointed, and the prince of Wales 
placed at the head of affairs to govern in 
the name of his royal father. The care of 
the king's person was committed to the 
queen, and a council appointed to assist her 
majesty in the important charge. 

Portugal having been conquered by the 
French, and the prince regent of that coun- 
try obliged to retire to the Brazils, England 
took up the cause of the injured Portuguese, 
and determined to defend them to the utmost. 
Sir Arthur Wellesley seconded these designs, 
defeated the French, and, by the treaty of 
Cintra,obliged them to evacuate that territory. 
Spain, likewise, was overrun by the in- 
satiable Napoleon, who, with a perfidy al- 
most unprecedented, affected to befriend the 
Spaniards, enticed their king and his family 
into France, seized upon him when there as 



GEORGE III. 331 

his captive, and afterwards placed his own 
brother on the throne of Spain. 

The Spaniards, indignant at such baseness, 
had recourse to the English for .assistance, 
who immediately hastened to their succour, 
and for some years remained in the peninsula, 
combatting resolutely with the French, who 
were in 1814 completely driven from thence. 

Before this time, Bonaparte had broke 
with every nation on the Continent, and in 
the preceding year went with the most for- 
midable army that had ever been collected, 
into Russia, entered Moscow, and flattered 
himself that Petersburg also would fall into 
his hands. But in this he was mistaken : the 
Russians, enraged by such audacity, flew to 
arms, and drove him and his army out of 
their country. The very elements seemed 
also to combine against him : and such of his 
troops as had been spared by the sword, fell 
victims to the climate. Of all his immense 
army, scarce a vestige remained ; and the 
man who, but a short time before, considered 
himself almost as emperor of the world, es- 
caped for his life, and arrived at the capital of 
his dominions with only a single attendant. 
Notwithstanding his ill-success, he prevailed 
on his infatuated people to raise fresh forces, 
and he went out to meet the powers of the 
Continent, now combined against him. 

Russia, Prussia and Austria effected a junc- 
tion on the banks of the Rhine: a dreadful 
battle took place before Leipsic, and the ty- 



332 LINE 0F BRUNSWICK. 

rant was obliged to retreat towards Paris. 
The allied armies pursued him, and drew 
nearer and nearer to that proud city. The 
eyes of all the world were upon them, and 
nothing less than its utter destruction ex- 
pected; when, to the surprise of all, Bona- 
parte made overtures forresigning the throne. 
The united monarchs, who had so lately pur- 
sued him with inveterate rage, were suddenly 
turned to peace, and Napoleon was permit- 
ted to retire to the island of Elba. 

The family of the Bourbons was restored to 
the throne in the person of Louis XVIII. and 
peace vvas proclaimed throughout Europe. 

But it was not of long continuance; for, 
before a year expired, the restless spirit of 
Bonaparte contrived his escape from the 
place of his confinement. He entered 
France, and passed without resistance to the 
capital. The unfortunate Louis was obliged 
to make his escape, and retreated to Lisle, 
where he took up his station. 

The nations of the Continent, who had 
scarcely laid down their arms, immediately 
resumed them, and once more passed the 
frontiers of France in their way to Paris. 
Again, however, Napoleon contrived to raise 
an army, and marched towards Brussels, 
where the duke of Wellington was waiting 
for an opportunity of contending with him. 
A most dreadful battle ensued, on the plains 
of Waterloo, between the English and Prus- 
sians combined against the French. 



GEORGE III. 833 

The latter were beaten ; but at the loss of 
such numbers of the English, that when 
news of the victory reached London, the 
joy for the success of the allies was clouded 
with grief for the loss of the many brave 
men who had perished. ■ 

Wellington and Blucher, the glorious vic- 
tors, pursued the enemy to the gates of Paris, 
where they were induced to enter into ne- 
gociations, and to spare the city, of which 
they took quiet possession; the French troops 
evacuating it according to agreement, and 
retiring beyond the Loire. 

Louis XVI II. was, in the spring of 1845, 
replaced on the throne of his ancestors. 

Driven from place to place, and having no 
where to rest in peace, Bonaparte threw 
himself into the hands of the English, and 
sought protection from his bitterest foe. — 
This protection was granted him, at least so 
far as to secure his person. He was sent 
the latter end of the same year to the island 
of St. Helena, under a strong guard of Eng- 
lish, and remained imprisoned and watched 
with unceasing vigilance, though furnished 
with all the necessaries and many of the 
comforts of life, till his death, which was in 
1821. 

America, always jealous of the power of 
England, and envious of her commerce, to- 
wards the latter part of the continental war 
commenced hostilities against her. No very 
remarkable advantage was obtained on either 






334 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

side ; and at length, when all the other pow- 
ers were at peace, the United States of 
America came to terms of accommodation. 

During the period of this reign, many 
great events and revolutions have taken place 
in the world. In most of these England has 
taken a distinguished part; and the glory of 
her arms, both by sea and land, has been ac- 
knowledged by all countries. Though our 
possessions have been lost in North America, 
our colonies in the West Indies have been 
increased, and our dominion in theEastlndies 
greatly enlarged. In the year 1 799, the Sul- 
tan Tippoo Saib, with whom we had been long 
at war, was defeated, his capital taken, and 
himself slain in battle. By his death, a large 
extent of country called the Mysore was 
added to the British possessions, and greater 
security given to our settlements in the East 
Indies. The cape of Good Hope has likewise 
fallen intoour hands; and the small butimpor- 
tantisland of Malta is also in our possession. 

In short, England never stood higher in" 
the scale of nations than at present; nor was 
ever more esteemed for her justice, human- 
ity, and integrity. 

On the 29th of January, 1820, eight days 
after the death of the duke of Kent, the ven- 
erable king George 3d expired without a 
struggle, in the sixtieth year of his reign, and 
the eighty-second of his age. Over the last 
nine years of his life an awful veil had been 
drawn ; in the periods of the deepest national 



GEORGE in. 335 

solicitude his mind had felt no interest : in 
the hour of the most acute domestic feeling, 
his eye had been tearless ; almost the last 
time this venerable sovereign appeared in 
public, was on the day when his people with 
one accord, devoted themselves to rejoicing 
in honour of his completion of the fiftieth 
year of his reign, a period far beyond the 
common term of dominion. He was blind ; 
but as he rode through the assembled thou- 
sands of his subjects, he was indeed the 
object of veneration and love. In a few 
weeks, a most afflicting and domestic calam- 
ity, the death of the princess Amelia, bowed 
him to the dust. The anguish of the father 
was too great for a wounded spirit to bear : 
his reason forsook him, and it never returned. 



TABLE XLIV. 

FAMILY OF GEORGE III. 

CORRECTED TO JANUARY 1829. 
WIFE. 
Princess CHARLOTTE, of Mecklenberg Strelitz :— 
born May 6, 1744 ; married Sept. 7, 1761 ; died Nov. 
17, 1818. 

SONS. 
1. GEORGE, Prince of Wales i— born August 12, 1762 ; 
married April 8, 1795, to Princess Caroline, daughter 
to the Duke of Brunswick, born May 17, 1768, and 
died Aug. 7, 1821 ; by whom he had issue Charlotte 
Augusta, born Jan. 7, 1796, married May 2, 1816, 
to Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg, and died Nov. 



336 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

5, 1817; appointed Regent 1807 3 crowned as George 
IV. 1820. 

2. FREDERICK, Duke of York and Albany :— born Aug. 

16, 1763; elected Bishop of Osnaburgh Feb. 27, 
17^4; married Sept. 29, 1791, to the Princess Freder- 
ica Charlotte Ulrica, princess royal of Prussia, born 
May 7, 1767 ; Frederick died Jan. 5, 1827. 

3. WILLIAM HENRY, Duke of Clarence ;— born Aug. 

21,1765; married in 1818, to the Princess of Saxe 
Meiningen. 

4. EDWARD, Duke of Kent:— born Nov. 2, 1767; mar- 

ried in 1818, to Victoria Maria, [daughter of the late 
Duke of Saxe-Coburg, born in 1786 ; Edward died 
Jan. 21 1820, leaving one daughter,; Alexandrina 
Victoria. 

5. ERNEST, Duke of Cumberland :— born June 5, 1771 ; 

married May 29, 1815, to Frederica Sophia Caroline, 
daughter to the Duke of Mecklenberg Strelitz, born 
March 2, 1778. 

6. AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, D uke of Sussex :— born 

Jan. 27, 1773. 

7. ADOLPHUS FREDERICK, Duke of Cambridge :— 

born Feb. 24, 1774; married June 22, 1818, to the 
Princess of Hesse, born in 1797. 

8. OCTAV1US :— born Feb. 25, 1779 ; died May 3, 1753. 

9. ALFRED :— born Sept. 22, 1780 ; died Aug. 20, 1782. 

DAUGHTERS. 

1. CHARLOTTE AUGUSTA MATILDA, Princess roy- 

al of England:— born Sept. 29, 1766; married May 
18, 1797, to the Duke, late King of Wirtemberg. 

2. AUGUSTUS SOPHIA :— born Nov. 8, 1768. 

3. ELIZABETH:— born May 22, 1770; married April 7, 

1718, to the Prince of Hesse Homberg. 

4. MARY :— born April 25, 1776 ; married July 22, 1816, 

to her cousin the Duke of Gloucester. 

5. SOPHIA :— born Nov. 23, 1777. 

6. AMELIA:— born Aug. 7, 1783 ; died Nov. 2, 1810. 



GEORGE III. 337 



CHRONOLOGY. 
A. D. 

1762 War declared against Spain. The Hermione, a 

Spanish ship, taken, valued at near £1,200,000. 
Manilla taken from the Spaniards. The Prince 
of Wales born. Havana taken from the Span- 
iards. Preliminaries of peace between England 
and France signed at Fontainbleau, November 3. 
Martinico and Guadaloupe taken by the French. 

1763 Peace proclaimed between England, France, and 

Spain. 

1764 The longitude found at sea by means of Harrison's 

time-piece. The massacre of Patna in the East 
Indies, where 4,000 of the garrison and inhabi- 
tants were put to the sword. 

1765 Otaheite discovered by captain Willis. 

1766 The American stamp act repealed. Gibraltar nearly 

destroyed by a storm. 
1769 New Zealand explored by captain Cook. Electrici- 
ty of the Aurora Borealis discovered. Stratford 
Jubilee held in honour of Shakspeare. 

1771 Falkland islands seized by the Spaniards. 

1772 Negroes adjudged free in England. Solway moss 

began to flow. 

1773 A large quantity of tea belonging to the East India 

company, destroyed at Boston by the citizens. 

1774 The port of Boston shut up by an act of parliament. 

Civil war commences in America. A violent 
storm, by which 40 ships were lost near Yarmouth. 
Humane Society for the recovery of drowned 
persons instituted. 

1775 Trade with America prohibited. The battles of 

Lexington and Bunker's hill. 

1776 America declared itself independent. 

1777 General Burgoyne and his army surrender to the 

Americans at Saratoga. 

1778 War declared against France. Pondicherry taken 

from the French. Admiral Keppel fights the 
French fleet off Ushant. The earl of Chatham 
died, and interred in Westminster Abbey. 

1779 Ireland admitted to a free trade. The French make 

a fruitless attempt on the island of Jersey. Their 
shipping destroyed in Concale bay. An Ameri- 
can fleet totally destroyed off Penobscot. Pitch 
and tar made from pit-coal at Bristol. 
29 



338 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

1780 Admiral Rodney defeats the Spanish fleet near caps 

St. Vincent, and takes their admiral Laugara 
prisoner. Dreadful riots in London. War with 
Spain and Holland. Torture abolished in France. 
His Majesty's ships Andromeda, Laurel. Deal- 
Castle, Thunderer, Stirling-Castle, Cameleon, 
and many others, lost in a dreadful hurricane in 
the West Indies. 

1781 Lord Cornwallis and his army surrender to the Amer- 

icans and French at York-Town. Sir Eyre 
Coote defeats Hyder Ally. Ceylon taken from 
the Dutch. Florida conquered by the Spaniards. 
Engagement between admiral Parker and the 
Dutch fleet off Dogger Bank. St. Eustatius, St«. 
Martin, and other Dutch settlements, captured. 

1782 Batavia taken by the English. The memorable at- 

tack of Gibraltar by the French and Spaniards ; — 
their gun-boats totally destroyed, and the gar- 
rison relieved by a squadron of 33 ships of the 
line, under Lord Howe, in the face of the com- 
bined fleets of France and Spain, consisting of 
47. Admiral Rodney defeats the French fleet in 
the West-Indies ; takes admiral Count de Grasse 
and five ships of the line. The Ville de Paris, 
and other French prizes lost at sea. 

1783 Great Britain declares the United States of America 

independent. A new planet discovered by Mr. 
Herschell, and called the Georgium Sidus. A new 
island rose out of the ocean near Iceland. 

1784 The great seal stolen. Mail coaches first establisned, 

by Mr. Raikes, of Gloucester. Slave trade abol- 
ished in Pennsylvania, and in New-England. 

1785 Blanchard and Dr. Jefferies cross the English Chan- 

nel, in a balloon, from Dover, and land near 
Calais. M. Pilatre deRosiere, and M. Romain r 
ascend in a balloon, which takes fire and they are 
dashed to pieces. 

1786 Margaret Nicholson attempts to assassinate the king. 

Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, died. Con- 
victs first sent to Botany Bay, and Sierra Leone. 
The young lord Gormadston clandestinely carried 
abroad, in order to force him to embrace the Ro- 
mish persuasion. 

1787 Three American priests ordained bishops by the 

archbishop of Canterbury. The house of Peers 
commenced the trial of Warren Hastings, esq. on 
a charge of high crimes, &e. committed by him 
in the East Indies, of which he was impeached. 



GEORGE III. 339 

The abolition of the Slave trade proposed in parlia- 
ment. Beginning of the French Revolution. 

War commenced in India with Tippoo Sultan. 

Riots at Birmingham. 

The Alien-bill passed in the British house of Commons. 
The English evacuate Toulon. 

The Habeus Corpus act suspended. Lord Howe de- 
feats the French fleet oft* Ushant. 

Mr. Hastings* trial ended by his acquittal. The Cape 
of Good Hope taken by the British forces. Ceylon 
taken by the British. 

The East India Company votes an indemnification and 
recompence to Mr. Hastings. 

A mutiny of the British fleet at Portsmouth and the 
Nore suppressed. The Dutch fleet beaten and cap- 
tured by Lord Duncan. 

Ireland in open rebellion. Lord Nelson totally defeat- 
ed the French fleet in the battle of the Nile. The 
French fleet defeated by Sir J. B. Warren. 

Seringapatam taken by Gen. Harris and Sir David 
Baird, and Tippoo Sultan killed. The French under 
Bonaparte defeated by Sir Sidney Smith at Acre. 
The expedition of the British against Holland. The 
British troops evacuate Holland. 

Vote of the Irish house of Comroons agreeing to the 
Union of Great Britain and Ireland. — Similar vote 
of the house of Lords. Malta taken by the British 
forces. 

Mr. Pitt resigns, after being minister 18 years. Battle 
of Alexandria, — the French defeated and Sir Ralph 
Abercronibie killed. Battle of Copenhagen, the 
Danish fleet taken and destroyed by Lord Nelson. 
Taking of Cairo and Alexandria, by the British 
troops. 

Definitive treaty with France signed at Amiens. 

Execution of Col. Despard for high treason. Dissolu- 
tion of the peace with France, May. Insurrec- 
tion in Dublin; Habeus Corpus suspended, and 
martial law proclaimed. Defeat of Row Scinda and 
Berar Rajar at Ajunty, by Gen. Arthur Wellesley. 
The Britith troops enter Delhi, and the Great Mogul 
puts himself under their protection. 

Mr. Pitt resumes his situation as Prime Minister. 

The Spaniards declare war against Great Britain. 
Lord Nelson defeats the combined fleets of France 
and Spain at Trafalgar; takes twenty sail of the 
}'me, and is killed in the engagement. *Sir R. Stra- 



S40 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

chan takes four French ships of the line, off Cape 
Ortegal. 

1806 Death of William Pitt ; his debts discharged at the 

public expense, and a statue decreed to his memory, i 
Admiral Duckworth captures and destroys five 
French ships of the line. Sir John Stuart defeats 
the French under Regnier at Maida in Calabria. 
Surrender of Buenos Ayres to Gen. Beresford and 
Sir Home Popham. French squadron of five frig- 
ates captured by Sir Samuel Hood. — Death of 
Charles James Fox. Rupture of a negociation for 
peace with France, and return cf Earl Lauderdale. 
Recapture of Buenos Ayres by the Spaniards. The 
Slave Trade abolished by act of Parliament. 

1807 Copenhagen bombarded, and the Danish fleet surren- 

dered to the British, under Lord Cathcart and Admi- 
ral Gambier. South America evacuated by the 
British. The British troops evacuate Egypt. The 
island of Madeira surrendered to Great Britain in 
trust for Portugal. 

1808 The French prohibit all commerce with Great Britain. 

Battle of Vimiera in Portugal ; the French under 
Junot defeated by Sir Arthur Wellesley. 

1809 The French defeated at the battle ofCorunna; Sir 

John Moore killed. The French fleet in Basque 
roads destroyed by Lord Cochrane. Senegal sur- 
rendered to the British. The battle of Talavera; 
the French defeated by Sir Arthur Wellesley. — The 
50th anniversary of the King's reign celebrated as a 
jubilee. The French fleet in the Mediterranean de- 
feated by Lord Collingwood. 

1810 An attempt made to assassinate the duke of Cumber- 

land j Sellis, the duke's valet, found with his throat 
cut. Murat's army in Sicily defeated by General 
J. Campbell. Battle of Busaco ; the French defeat- 
ed by Lord Wellington. Capture of the isle of 
France by the British. 

1811 The Prince of Wales appointed Regent. Battles of 

Barrosa, Albuera, &c. in which the French were 
beaten with great loss. Isle of Java capitulated to 
the British arms. 

1812 Ciudad Rodrigo taken by storm, by Lord Wellington. 

Rt. Hon. Spencer Percival, prime minister of Great 
Britain, assassinated by Jolm Beliingham. Battle of 
Salamanca, and defeat of the French. 

1813 Great battle of Vittoria in Spain, in which lord Wel- 

lington totally defeats the French under Joseph Bona- 
parte and Marshal Jourdan. Defeat of Marshal 



GEORGE III. 341 

Soult, in Spain, with the loss of 15,000 men, by lord 
Wellington. 

1814 A fair on the Thames, it being frozen over above 

the London bridges. Feb. 2. Bourdeaux surrenders 
to lord Wellington. Peace between England and 
France. The allied Sovereigns visit London. City 
of Washington taken by the British army under Gen. 
Ross. Treaty of peace between England and 
America, Dec. 24. Joanna Southcott, an impostor, 
died j and, with her, the hopes of the promised 
Shiloh, and all her other prophecies. 

1815 Bonaparte sailed from Elba, and landed with 1,000 

men at Cannes, in France. Bonaparte enters Paris, 
Mar. 21. An attempt made by Margaret Moore to 
steal the Crown from the Tower. Memorable battle 
of Waterloo, June 17, 18 ; Bonaparte fled ; the 
duke of "Wellington's horse killed under him. Bona- 
parte sailed for St. Helena, Aug. 7. Submission of 
the island of Ceylon to Britain. Bonaparte landed 
at St. Helena Oct. 16. The English repulsed at 
New Orleans, with the loss of several thousand in 
killed and wounded, including several generals. 
A column of light appeared in the north-east, so 
vivid as to alarm many persons. By the explosion 
of a coal-pit near Newbattle, in the county of Dur- 
ham, 70 persons perished. Bonaparte resigns the 
government to a provisional council. In the colliery 
above-mentioned at Newbattle, a steam engine burst, 
and 57 persons were killed or wounded. 

1816 Princess Charlotte of Wales married to Prince Leo- 

pold of Saxe Coburg, May 2. Sir Humphrey 
Davy invented a Safety Lamp to prevent the acci- 
dents which happen in coal-mines from fire damp. 

1817 The Princess Charlotte died in child-birth, having been 

delivered of a still-born child. Steam boats gener- 
ally adopted for river navigation in America and 
Europe. The magnetic needle, which had for many 
years taken a western declination from the meridian, 
returned towards the north. 

1818 The Queen of Great Britain, Charlotte of Mecklen- 

burg-Strelitz, died Nov. 21. Two expeditions to 
penetrate the North pole sailed, one to the North-east, 
and the other to the North-west, but neither succeed- 
ed. The kaleidescope, a new optical instrument, in- 
vented by Dr. Brewster of Edinburgh. Three sys- 
tems of education in this year claimed public atten- 
tion : that of mutual instruction propagated by Dr. 
Bell and Mr. Lancaster ; the interrogative or intel- 
29* 



342 LINE OF BRUNSWICK. 

lectual system of questions without answers ; and 
that of Mr. Pestalozzi by oral questions. Belzoni 
transported from Egypt to England the statue of 
Memnon. The duke of Clarence married to the 
princess of Saxe Meiningen ; and the duke of Kent? 
to a princess of Saxe Coburg. For two or three- 
da-'s the metropolis, as well as the country round,, 
was enveloped in a thick impenetrable fog, whichs 
obstructed all travelling, and caused a number of" 
fatal accidents. 
1819 Messrs. Perkins and Co. of Philadelphia, introduced 
into London a mode of engraving on soft steel, which, 
when hardened, will multiply fine impressions indefi- 
nitely. Many distressed persons embarked, under 
the sanction of government, to establish a new colony 
at the Cape of Good Hope. Southwark bridge 
opened, making the sixth metropolitan bridge over 
• the Thames. Forty persons killed by the explosion 
of a mine near Newcastle. A shoal of young whales 
appeared in Dungannan bay, forty taken by the 
fishermen. A whirlwind at Aldborough, Suffolk, 
carried up a quantity of barley from a field to a great 
height. Another expedition was fitted out to try a 
North-west passage to the Pacific Ocean. Field 
Marshal Prince Blucher died. 

GEORGE IV. 

"1820 Lieut. Parry returned from his voyage to attempt the 
discovery of a North-west passage : he reached the 
10th degree of west longitude, where he passed one 
winter in latitude 74, and returned for further sup- 
plies. Lamented death of H.R.H the duke of Kent. 
Death, in Windsor-castle, of George III. in the 82d 
year of his age, and 60th of his reign. George IV. 
held his first court in Carlton-house. — Takes oath 
to maintain the church of Scotland. — Oaths of alle- 
giance administered. Cato-street conspirators ar- 
rested. Thistlewood and his associates executed 
before Newgate. Regent's canal from Paddington 
to Limehouse opened. Extraordinary solar eclipse ; 
central and annular in the interior of Europe. An 
Estadfod, or assembly of Welch bards, in Wrexham, 
North Wales. Lieutenant Parry returns from his 
voyage of discovery in the seas on the north of North 
America. 
1821 A Pedo-motive machine invented by Dr. Cartwright, 
for travelling the public roads without the aid of 
horses. A mammoth's bones found by Captain Vetch . 



GEORGE IV. 343 

on the west bank of the Medway, near Rochester. 
Mr. Kent of Glasgow, invented a machine for walk- 
ing 1 on the surface of the water, at the rale of three 
miles an hour. A penknife, containing 2,016 blades, 
was presented to the Queen, by a Sheffield Manufac- 
turer ; another was afterwards made containing J ,821 
blades. Duel between Mr. Scott, of the London 
Magazine, and Mr. Christie, of an Edinburgh Maga- 
zine, in which the former was mortally wounded. 
News received of a dreadful massacre in Manilla, 
arising from religious fanaticism. A gambling- 
house, in London, entered by the police, and about 
70 individuals held to bail. The Discovery-ships 
sailed from Deptford, for the American Arctic Seas. 
Sale of a collection of Pictures, by Sir Joshua Rey- 
nolds, which produced £15,000. A bog burst forth 
from Kilmalady, in Ireland, and in an hour covered 
100 acres from twenty to 60 feet deep ; it proceeded 
to a great extent, 200 yards wide, and 80 feet deep, 
at the rate of two yards per hour. Roads and 
bridges were covered, communications cut off, and 
great damage done. Queen Caroline died at Ham- 
mersmith, after an illness of eight days. Loss of the 
Juliana, East-Indiaman, in the Margate-roads, in 
which 38, out of the 40 individuals on-board ; per- 
ished. 
The King surrendered £30,000 per annum of the 
civil list. A coroner's jury decided that publicans 
are legally bound to receive into their houses all 
persons in extremity. Fifteen thousand Greeks mas- 
sacred in the island" of Scio, by the Turks. A south- 
west gale so retarded the flow of the tide in the 
Thames, that it was fordable at London bridge. 
Subscriptions opened for the starving Irish peasantry, 
which amounted to £300,000. Dreadful cases of* 
misery and oppression published. Upwards of 800 
Greek virgins exposed in the slave markets, and 
20,000 Christians slaughtered in various villages. 
The marquis of Londonderry, cut his throat at his 
house, North Cray. Mr. Canning appointed Secre- 
tary of State, in lieu of the marquis of Londonderry. 
Grand eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the most tremen- 
dous since 1794. Fonthill abbey purchased by Mr. 
Farquhar, for £330,000. Sir William Hersehell, the 
celebrated Astronomer, died. Canova, the celebra- 
ted Sculptor, died. Madame Lsetitia Bonaparte, 
mother of the late Emperor of France, died. 
George IV. presented to the nation the library of his 
late father, at Buckingham House, consisting of 



344 LUSZ OI' 15KUJNSWICK. 

120,000 volumes. An insurrection of the Negroes at 
Martinique detected : several planters had died by 
poison. Two hundred Negroes ordered for execu- 
tion. Captain Parry arrived from his exploratory 
voyage to the Polar regions; he had failed in the 
chief object of the expedition. Three grand Music- 
al Festivals held within a month, at York, Birming- 
ham, and Gloucester, produced the enormous sum of 
£30,500. By the melancholy accident from fire 
da.i.p, at the William Pitt colliery near Whitehaven, 
14 nisn, 16 boys, and two girls, lost their lives > 
Seventeen horses were also killed. Dr. Jenner, 
discoverer of Vaccination, died. Mrs. Radcliffe, 
authoress of the Mysteries of Udolpho, &c. died. 
At Rochetts, earl St. Vincent died. At Kincardine, 
Admiral lord Keith died. At Rome, Pope Pius the 
Seventh, died. 
1824 A subterraneous forest of oak was discovered, on the 
shores of the Solway Frith, beyond Brough, imbed- 
ded in a stiff blue clay ; the trees were of large dimen- 
sions, and the wood so perfect as to be scarce percep- 
tible from new timber, although it must have laid 
there many thousands of years. Mr. Mantell dis- 
covered, in the iron sand-stone of Sussex, the teeth 
of a herbivorous reptile of gigantic magnitude, being 
of the lizard tribe; from a thigh bone found, it 
must have equalled the elephant in height, and been 
more than 60 feet long. The pictures of J. J. Anger- 
stein, 38 in number, purchased by Government for 
£57,000 to begin a national gallery; — Sir G. Beau- 
mont liberally presented his collection to the public 
for that purpose. News arrived of the death of 
Belzoni, the African traveller. The Hecla, discove- 
ry ship, with Capt. Parry, left her moorings on a 
voyage of discovery to the Arctic region. Mr. Har- 
ris, accompanied by Miss Stocks, ascended in a bal- 
loon, when the former was killed by being thrown 
from the car. The remains of Lord Byron were 
conveyed from London, amidst a concourse of people,, 
for Newstead A bbey . A copy of Columbus's letter to 
the king of Spain, on the discovery of America, sold 
for thirty-four guineas. Particulars were received 
respecting the death of the celebrated traveller Bel- 
zoni. Mr. Sadler, jun. the aeronaut, was killed on 
descending in his balloon, near Blackburn in Lanca- 
shire. Tire enormous timber ship, called the Colum- 
bus, arrived at Blackwall, from the river St. Law- 
rence, being 300 feet long, 50 broad, and 30 deep. 
Patrick Grant died, aged 111; to this venerable 



GEORGE IV. 845 

Highlander, his majesty had granted a pension of a 
guinea a week. 

1825 In January, wool was exported from England to the 

United States of America, being the first instance 
for two centuries. Organic remains of antediluvian 
animals found in a cave near Chudleigh. Steam 
engines in England, representing the power of 320 ,000 
horses, equal to 1,920,000 men, managed by 3G ; 000 
only, now add to the power of our population 1,884,000 
men ! A phenomenon observed on the coast of Kent, 
being a cloud, resting part on the sea, extending as 
far as the eye could reach, reflecting two distinct 
images of every vessel passing, one inverted, the 
other in its proper position, apparently sailing" in 
the air. An earthquake happened in Algiers, when 
the town of Blida, was totally destroyed, and, of a pop- 
ulation of 15,000 persons, scarcely 300 were left 
alive. £2,000 granted to Mr. M'Adam for improve- 
ment of the roads. The Tower of Fonthill-Abbey 
fell, and destroyed great part of that elegant building. 

1826 London was visited by such a dense fog, in the fore- 

noon, that candles were burned in all the shops. 
The abduction of Miss Turner by E. G. Wakefield. 
The death of the celebrated composer, Baron Von 
Weber, occurred, being in his 40th year. Mr. Can- 
ning dined with the King of France, and Sir Walter 
Scott with the King of England. 

1827 Canal Excavation by the plough in lieu of manual la- 

bour — It is remarkable, that England, which usually 
sets the example to all Europe in the application of 
machinery as a substitute for manual labour, should 
have been anticipated by the small state of Wirtem- 
berg ; an extensive line of canal having been pro- 
jected, and sanctioned by the Government, an emi- 
nent engineer constructed a set of ploughs of various 
forms, to suit the nature of the soil to be intersected, 
which, by the aid of from eight to twelve horses, 
excavated the line of canal, at less than a fourth of 
the price which would have been expended in man- 
ual labour. His royal Highness the Duke of York 
expired. Will of Mr. Rundel r the silversmith, prov- 
ed, whose personal property amounted to £1,200,000. 
The Steam vessel George the Fourth left Portsmouth 
for Africa. Mr. Canning appointed chancellor of 
the Exchequer, April 24. Mr. Canning expired 
Aug. 8. Lord Goderich appointed Premier. Death 
of Dr. Good, F. R. S. author of various works on 
Science, &c. Death of Rebecca Fury, of Fal- 
mouth, Jamaica, aged 140. 



346 




CONCLUSION. 



Of the civilized state of the English Nation. 

Having shown you in the foregoing pages by 
what means Britain gradually refined, from a 
state of barbarous ignorance, to a state of high 
cultivation, opulence, power, and graudeur, I 
shall now, by way of conclusion, endeavour to 
give you some idea of its present advantages. 

The face of the country is quite different 
from what it was when the land lay uncultivated, 
and its inhabitants were a set of rude, savage 
people, living in little mean huts ; being now 
intermixed with cornfields, meadows, and other 
enclosures and plantations, interspersed with 
noble seats, well-stocked farms, comfortable 
houses, cheerful villages, populous towns and 
cities. The whole country is divided into 
Counties; each county contains a number of 
towns and villages. 

The English people are now in general ex- 
tremely well clothed : even the poorest among 



CIVILIZED STATE. 347 

them have greatly the advantage of the former 
inhabitants of the country, who went entirely 
without clothes, and painted their skins ; per- 
sons in the middle stations of life are able to 
procure both plenty and variety of apparel, and 
every other conveniency ; and the rich and 
noble can add to these the splendour of jewels. 

Numbers of persons are possessed of large 
hereditary estates, and live in the height of afflu- 
ence ; others do the same on the fortunes which 
they themselves acquired by trade and mer- 
chandise. 

Agriculture is brought to great perfection in 
the kingdom, and vast numbers of people find 
employment in the culture of the earth ; others 
gain a livelihood as mechanics and artisans, and 
others are occupied in the polite arts ; others as 
sailors and soldiers. 

England now produces such quantities of 
corn as not only to supply the natives, but enable 
them to contribute towards the sustenance of 
other nations; and vast quantities of fruit and 
delicious vegetables are raised in it. There is 
scarcely a manufacture in Europe, but what is 
brought to great perfection in England : the 
woollen manufactory is the most considerable 
and exceeds, in goodness and quantity, that of 
any other nation ; a great dual of woollen cloth 
is sent annually to different parts. 

Hardioare is another capital article : locks 
edge-tools, guns, swords, and other arms ; house- 
hold utensils of brass and iron; &,c. ; also clocks 
and watches made in England, are in high esti- 
mation, and a great number of articles besides, 
which enable the English to carry on a most 



348 CIVILIZED STATE. 

extensive and advantageous commerce with 
other nations, from whence they import numer- 
ous articles of usefulness and elegance, such as 
rice, sugpr, tea, coffee, furs, timber, iron, silver, 
gold, &c. &c. 

The arts of navigation and of war are arrived 
to such great perfection in this country, that 
Great Britain justly claims the sovereignty of 
the seas, and no enemy dares to invade its coasts. 

Poetry, music, painting, architecture, sculp- 
ture, engraving, printing, are also in a most 
flourishing state; and many excellent books 
have been, and still continue to be written, on 
various subjects, by different authors, by means 
of which, knowledge is spread among all ranks 
of people. 



THE STATE OF RELIGION IN ENGLAND. 

The protestant religion is now established 
throughout Great Britain ; a religion perfectly 
conformable to the written word of God. 

Instead of the groves in which the former in- 
habitants of England assembled, to pay their 
superstitious rites to idols, we have now churches 
and chapels, in which adoration is paid to the 
one true and only God, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

Instead of the verses of the Druids and Bards, 
the writings of ignorant idolaters, we have the 
Scripture, the infallible word of God, for our 
direction, which points out the certain way to 
obtain forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. 



GOVERNMENT. S49 

OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ENGLAND. 

Instead of a number of petty princes, ruling 
over small districts, as formerly, and making 
incursions upon each other's territories, which 
kept the country in a perpetual state of war, 
we have now a King, who governs according to 
the laws which have from time to time been 
made by Parliament. Instead of a set of rude 
barbarians, bearing shields and spears, or riding ' 
in chariots armed with scythes, we have now a 
numerous Army, of well-trained troops, under 
the direction of experienced Commanders ; and 
in our Navy, which is renowned all over the 
known world, we have advantages with which the 
ancient Britains had nothing to compare ; and, in- 
stead of a set of ignorant superstitious Druids, 
we have a body of Clergy, properly instructed 
and ordained to teach Christianity in all parts of 
the kingdom. 

I will add a few particulars, which will give 
you a more enlarged conception of the different 
parts of the English Constitution, or system of 
laws and customs. 



OF THE SUPREME POWER OF THE KINGDOM. 

The supreme power, or highest authority, is 
vested in the King and the Parliament. 

The Parliament consists of the House of 
Lords, and the House of Commons. 

The right of the king is hereditary ; that is, 
it descends from father to son : or, in case there 
are no male heirs, it goes to the eldest daughter, 
30 



350 SUPREME POWER. 

who governs under the title of queen, with the 
same power and authority as a king. 

The king has authority to summon the parlia- 
ment to meet, and he can adjourn or dissolve it 
at pleasure ; but cannot make laws, or raise 
money, without it. 

The House of Lords consists of the princes, 
dukes, earls and barons, who are called Lords 
Temporal : and the archbishops and bishops, 
who are called Lords Spiritual ; the former are 
members of the House of Lords by their birth- 
right ; the latter become so by being ordained 
to their sacred offices. 

The House of Commons consists of a number 
of men of large property in the kingdom, who 
have no title to seats in the House of Lords; 
two or more are elected to represent, or act as 
deputies for all the rest of the people in each 
county or borough ; they are called Members of 
Parliament, and are elected by the majority of 
votes : every man who has a freehold of the 
yearly value of forty shillings, has a right to 
vote for the member, or members, which the 
place where his freehold lies sends to parliament ; 
and when there are a greater number of candi- 
dates than can be returned, then those gentlemen 
who have the most votes are elected. Each 
member of parliament is engaged to have a 
regard to the interest of the place he represents, 
whenever a new law is made. 

There are elections every seven years, when 
the former members are often rechosen ; but 
sometimes they lose their election, and new 
members come in their stead. 

No Law can be made, nor any Tax laid with- 



SUPREME POWER. 353 

out the consent of the King and both Houses 
of Parliament. Nor can the king demand 
money of his subjects, or raise supplies for gov- 
ernment, without his Parliament. All that is 
collected is raised by taxes laid at different times 
on various articles ; by which means every one 
who is possessed of any property contributes, 
in some way or other to the support of govern- 
ment ; in return for which, they are protected 
in their lives and property by the laws of the 
land. 

When a Bill, or Act of Parliament ; that is to 
say, a Law is to be made, or an old act amended 
or abolished, it is debated in the House of Com- 
mons ; that is, such members as can speak well, 
deliver Speeches, in which they give their rea- 
sons, some in favour of the bill and some against 
it ; after they have been heard, it is put to the 
vote by the Speaker, or president of the house, 
and all the members present vote on one side or 
the other ; if the majority of votes is for the 
Bill, it passes, and is then carried up to the 
House of Lords, where it is debated in the same 
manner; and if it passes that house also, it is 
submitted to the King for his assent, and if he 
approves it, it is made a Law. 

When the parliament first meets, the King 
either goes himself to the House of Lords, or 
sends commissioners, and makes a speech, in 
which he informs them of the present state of 
the nation, and asks for such additional supplies as 
he shall stand in need of in the course of the year ; 
and at the latter end of the Session, or Sitting, 
he goes to the house again, in order to pass bills 
and prorogue or dissolve the parliament : it is 



352 SUPREME POWER. 

prorogued or put off from time to time during 
the seven years, and dissolved at the end of 
them ; or before, if the king finds it necessary , 
to do so ; but this very seldom happens. 

The king goes in great state to the House of 
Lords, in a superb coach drawn by eight horses ; 
and before he enters the house, he is dressed in 
his royal robes and crowned ; he then enters the 
house, and seats himself upon the throne. 
The Prince of Wales has a seat on the king's 
right hand, and the other Princes of the blood 
on his left : the Lord High-Chancellor sits in a 
close bench a little backward ; the Viscounts, or 
Barons, sit on benches or woolpacks, covered 
with red baize, facing the throne ; the bench 
for the Bishops runs along the right hand of the 
throne, and that for the Dukes and Earls on the 
left. The Lord High-Chancellor, and the 
twelve Judges, when the King is not in the 
house, sit on woolpacks, between the barons and 
the throne. The reason of their sitting on wool 
is said to be, that they might keep in mind the 
staple commodity of the kingdom. 

On solemn occasions, the Lords appear in 
their parliamentary robes, which are of scarlet 
cloth. The Speaker of the House of Lords is 
usually the Lord Chancellor, or keeper of the 
Great Seal. 

None of the Commons wear robes excepting 
the Speaker, who has a black silk gown ; and 
when he goes before the king in the House of 
Lords, he wears one trimmed with gold. 



CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT. 358 



THE CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT. 

The church of England is Episcopal, or 
under the government of Bishops. 

The kingdom in respect to ecclesiastical af- 
fairs, is divided into large Districts, called 
Dioceses ; each of which contains a great num- 
ber of smaller districts, called Parishes. 

There are many parishes in each county, and 
often several in a large town : to each of which 
there is at least one minister, and frequently 
two, who officiate every Sunday and in some 
parishes, every week-day also ; in others, only on 
Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saints' days. 

There are two Archbishops : viz. One of 
Canterbury, and one of York. 

Under the Archbishops are twenty-four 
Bishops, besides the Bishop of Sodor and Man, 
who, having no EnglishJSarony, does not sit in 
the House of Lords. 

The twenty-four Bishops are : 

Bishop of London. Bishop of Salisbury. 

Bishop of Durham. Bishop of Bangor. 

Bishop of Winchester, Bishop of Norwich. 

Bishop of Ely. Bishop of Gloucester. 

Bishop of Bath and Wells. Bishop of Landaff. 

Bishop of Hereford. Bishop of Lincoln. 

Bishop of Rochester. Bishop of Bristol. 
Bishop of Lichfield &, Coventry . Bishop of Carlisle. 

Bishop of Chester. Bishop of Exeter. 

Bishop of Worcester. Bishop of Peterborough, 

Bishop of Chichester. Bishop of Oxford. 

Bishop of St. Asaph. Bishop of St. David's^ 

80* 



354 STATE ESTABLISHMENT. 

Each of these has a Diocese, in which he 
overlooks the conduct of the Clergy belonging 
to it. 

Under the Bishops are other Dignitaries, cal- 
led Arch-Deacons ; Deans ; Prebends , and 
a great number of inferior Clergy, called Rec- 
tors ; Vicars ; Curates. 
_ By means of the Clergy, the established re- 
ligion is kept up, its doctrines uncorrupted, its 
forms unaltered. 

There is a Common form of Prayer for the 
Church of England, which is used in all 
churches and chapels belonging to it throughout 
the kingdom. 

Those persons who differ from the church, 
are called Dissenters ; of which there are many, 
of different denominations, who have teachers 
and chapels to themselves. 



THE STATE-ESTABLISHMENT. 
Of the King's Ministers. 

As there is a great deal of business belonging 
to the crown, the king has ministers under him 
to assist him in the execution of it : they are 
called Privy Counsellors. 

These are answerable for their conduct, and 
may be removed by the king's direction — Among 
the Privy Counsellors, there are two whom the 
king more particularly consults ; they are called 
Secretaries of State. 

There are nine great officers of the crown, 
who take place next to the Royal Family, and 
the two Archbishops : 



STATE ESTABLISHMENT. 355 

1. Lord High-Steward. 

2. Lord High-Chancellor. 

3. First Commissioner of the Treasury. 

4. Lord President of the Council. 

5. Lord Privy-Seal: \ 

6. Lord High- Chamberlain. 

7. Lord High-Constable. 

8. Earl-Marshal of England. 

9. Lord High-Admiral. 

The Lord High-Steward's office is only occa- 
sional, as at a coronation, or the trial of a Peer 
or Peeress, and is usually exercised for the time 
by the Lord Chancellor. ; 

The Lord High-Chancellor's office is to pre- 
side in the High Court of Chancery, to modern 
ate the severities of the law in cases that re- 
quire it. 

The First Commission j^of the Treasury has 
four others with him. tpt> 

He has the management of all the money that 
is raised for the use of the government. 

The Lord President of the Council proposes 
all the business that is to be done from time to 
time at the council-board, and reports it to the 
King, when his majesty is not present. 

The Lord Privy-Seal puts the King's seal to 
all charters, grants, and the like, which are 
signed by the King. 

The Lord High-Chamberlain has the charge 
of the House of Lords during the sitting of 
Parliament, of fitting up Westminster Hall for 
coronations and trials of Peers ; of giving orders 
for furnishing the different palaces, for court 
mournings, and other particulars necessary to 



356 COURTS OF JUSTICE. 

keep up the splendour and dignity of the king- 
dom. 

The Duke of Ancaster is hereditary Lord 
Chamberlain. 

The Lord High-Constable's office continues 
only for the coronation day. 

The Earl Marshal, who is always the Duke 
of Norfolk, directs all processions, coronations, 
proclamations, funerals of the royal family, &,c. 

The Lord High-Admiral's office is laid aside, 
and the business of it performed at the Board 
of Admiralty, by Commissioners. 

At this Board the whole naval force of the 
nation is regulated. The commissioners order 
ships to be built ; name the officers to them, or 
confirm them when named, and examine into 
their qualifications before commissions are grant- 
ed to them ; pay the sailors who belong to ships 
of war, and sign warrants for the execution of 
such seamen as are condemned to death for 
capital offences. 



OF THE COURTS OF JUSTICE. 

The principal Courts of Justice are, 

1. The High Court of Chancery. 

2. The King's Bench. 

3. The Court of Common-Pleas. 

4. The Court of Exchequer. 

The Chancery is a court of equity, next in 
dignity to the Parliament, designed to relieve 
the subject by softening the rigour of the law. 

In the King's Bench four Judges preside, the 
first of whom is styled Lord Chief Justicb, 



COUNTY COURTS. 357 

In this court all matters to be determined be- 
tween the King and his subjects are tried, 
excepting such as belong to the Court of 
Exchequer. 

The Court of Common-Pleas takes notice of 
all pleas between subject and subject. The 
first judge of this court is styled Lord Chief- 
Justice of the Common-Pleas. 

The Court of Exchequer was established for 
managing the revenues of the crown. 

There are a Lord Chief-Baron and three 
other Barons, who preside as judges. 

All these courts are held in Westminster 
Hall ; and persons from all parts of the kingdom 
may present their pleas, or be summoned before 
them. 



OF COUNTY-COURTS AND OFFICERS, JURIES, &c. 

That order may be maintained, and jus- 
tice administered throughout England, a 
High Sheriff is appointed annually by the 
King, for every County. The business of the 
High Sheriff is to see that the laws are effectually 
put in execution. He holds a County Court, 
at which all civil causes in the county under 
40 shillings are heard and determined. 

Under the High-Sheriff are various officers, 
such as Under-sheriffs , Stewards of the Court, 
Bailiffs, Constables, Gaolers, Beadles, fyc. 

The next officer to the Sheriff is the Justice 
of the Peace. 

Several justices are appointed for each county ; 
these have the power of putting great part of 
the Statute-law in execution, in relation to the 



358 COUNTY COURTS. 

highways, the poor, vagrants, &c. &,c. and they 
examine and commit to prison all who break or 
disturb the peace. 

As the founders of the English Laws have 
wisely contrived that no man shall be punished 
for any capital crime without being tried by his 
Peers or Equals, there is in every County, a 
Jury; consisting of twelve 01 more men, who 
attend at the Assizes to hear trials, and give 
their Verdict, that is, their unanimous opinion, 
whether the delinquent is Guilty of the crime 
laid to his charge, or Not Guilty. 

The Assizes signify a sitting; and consist of 
& Judge, the Knights of the Shire, the Sheriff, 
the Jury, &c. 

Assizes are usually held once a year, at'conve- 
nient places in different parts of the kingdom ; 
and the twelve Judges make circuits among 
them to hear trials, and pass sentence according 
to law. — A Circuit contains a number of coun- 
ties, and two judges go from one assizes to 
another in each county. 

Criminals are punished in proportion te their 
crimes, either with Death, Transportation, 
Whipping, Branding, Fines or Imprisonment ; 
but none of these pains and penalties are inflict- 
ed, till the delinquent has had a legal trial by his 
peers, or equals ; that is, by a jury, who having 
heard the witnesses examined in open court, 
give their verdict, or unanimous opinion, con- 
cerning his guilt, or innocence. 

When the jury brings a criminal in Guilty — 
Death, the judge passes sentence on him, and 
he is executed, unless he obtains a reprieve. 



THE ARMY. 359 



THE ARMY 



consists of a great number of land forces, divi- 
ded into Troops or Regiments, of Horse or 
Foot. 

A number of Regiments, under the command 
of a General, is called an Army. 

Each Troop is commanded by a Colonel ; 
who has Officers to assist him, called, a Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, Majors, Captains, Lieu- 
tenants, Cornets, Ensigns. 

These all rank as Gentlemen : below them 
are Subalterns, Serjeants, Corporals, Drum- 
mers, Trumpeters ; and a great number of 
Privates, or common soldiers. 

The army is kept up in time of Peace, to pro- 
tect the kingdom from foreign invaders, and is 
augmented in time of War, to fight with its 
enemies. 



THE NAVY 

consists of a great many Ships of War, which 
carry a certain number of cannon, according to 
their respective sizes; some of them are employ- 
ed in times of peace to guard our coasts, and 
prevent the approach of enemies, and the rest 
are laid by ; but in war-time all are employed. 
Many go out in fleets, or squadrons, to carry 
troops to foreign parts, to convoy merchantmen, 
or ships of commerce, and to engage with the 
ships of the enemy. The principal Officers of 
the Royal Navy, are, Admirals, Captains^ 
Lieutenants, Masters, Midshipmen, 



360 INLAND NAVIGATION. 

There are a number of other persons of dif- 
ferent denominations employed on board, besides 
the common sailors, of which there are a great 
many in each ship. 



OF THE INLAND NAVIGATION. 

Besides the ships of war, and those which go 
to foreign parts in the merchants' service, there 
are a great number of smaller vessels constantly 
employed in going to and from various parts of 
the kingdom, to carry corn, coals, fish, and the 
produce of the manufactures of different coun- 
ties. 

What I have here given is but a slight sketch 
of the present state of England. I have not 
room to describe its numerous advantages ; but 
I hope you perceive that it is a most desirable 
country to live in, and that you have great rea- 
son to be thankful to God, that you are a subject 
of it. As you increase in years and knowledge, 
I hope your attachment to its Constitution, both 
in Church and State, will, increase also, and 
that you will have a true love for your native 
land ; for this will lead you to contribute y„aur 
part towards its prosperity, by practising t'hat 
righteousness, which alone exalteth the nation. 



THE END. 






020 684 509 



